The relevance of groundwater science to water-utility operations is analysed from a broad international perspective, identifying key concerns and specific opportunities for the future. The strategic importance worldwide of water utilities assuming the role of lead stakeholders for integrated groundwater resource management, recognizing their often considerable technical know-how and highly significant data holdings, is emphasized. Concurrently, the utilities themselves will need an ever-closer appreciation of groundwater-system behaviour if they are to manage efficiently their water-supply and wastewater operations.

Contamination of groundwater by enteric pathogens has commonly been associated with disease outbreaks. Proper management and treatment of pathogen sources are important prerequisites for preventing groundwater contamination. However, non-point sources of pathogen contamination are frequently difficult to identify, and existing approaches for pathogen detection are costly and only provide semi-quantitative information. Microbial indicators that are readily quantified often do not correlate with the presence of pathogens. Pathogens of emerging concern and increasing detections of antibiotic resistance among bacterial pathogens in groundwater are topics of growing concern. Adequate removal of pathogens during soil passage is therefore critical for safe groundwater extraction. Processes that enhance pathogen transport (e.g., high velocity zones and preferential flow) and diminish pathogen removal (e.g., reversible retention and enhanced survival) are of special concern because they increase the risk of groundwater contamination, but are still incompletely understood. Improved theory and modeling tools are needed to analyze experimental data, test hypotheses, understand coupled processes and controlling mechanisms, predict spatial and/or temporal variability in model parameters and uncertainty in pathogen concentrations, assess risk, and develop mitigation and best management approaches to protect groundwater.

In previous works on olive mill wastewater (OMW), secondary advanced oxidation treatment solved the problem related to the presence of phenolic compounds and considerable chemical oxygen demand. However, the effluent presented a significant salinity after this treatment. In this work, an adequate operation of a reverse osmosis (RO) membrane is addressed to ensure constant performance over a long period of time. In this paper, the effect of the operating parameters on the dynamic membrane rejection performance towards the target species was examined and discussed. Rejection efficiencies of all species were observed to follow a similar pattern, which consisted of slight initial improvement that further decreased over time. Rejection of both divalent ions remained constant at over 99% regardless of the operating conditions. Rejections were noticed to follow the order SO42- > Cl- > NO3- and Ca2+ > Mg2+> K+> Na+, as a rule. Divalent species were moderately more highly rejected than monovalent ones, in accordance with their higher charge and molecular size, and sulfate anions were consistently rejected by over 99%. Finally, the RO membrane exiting treated effluent was depleted of the high electro conductivity initially present (above 97% rejection), permitting its re-use as good quality irrigation water (below 1 mS/cm). | En trabajos previos con agua residual de almazara, se solucionó el problema en relación a la presencia de compuestos fenólicos y la considerable concentración de material orgánico. Sin embargo, el efluente presentaba una salinidad significativa tras éste. Este trabajo tiene por objetivo estudiar la adecuada operación de una membrana de ósmosis inversa (OI) para asegurar rendimientos constantes por largos períodos de tiempo de operación. Se examina y discute el efecto de los parámetros de operación en el rendimiento dinámico del rechazo de especies diana. Se observó que la eficiencia de rechazo de todas las especies siguió un patrón similar, consistente en una mejora inicial que posteriormente minoró con el tiempo de operación. El rechazo de iones divalentes se mantuvo constante sobre 99% independientemente de las condiciones de operación. La selectividad del rechazo siguió el orden SO42- > Cl- > NO3- y Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+> Na+ en general. Las especies divalentes fueron moderadamente más rechazadas que las monovalentes, en concordancia con su mayor carga y tamaño molecular, y los iones sulfato fueron consistentemente rechazados al 99%. Finalmente, el efluente a la salida de la membrana de OI se encontraba exento de los altos valores de conductividad inicialmente presentes (rechazo superior al 97%), permitiendo su reutilización como agua de regadío de buena calidad (inferior a 1 mS/cm).

Noticia publicada en la web institucional del Instituto Botánico de Barcelona el 3 de febrero de 2017 -- Disponibles PDFs en español y catalán y capturas de pantalla de la noticia en la web. | Peer reviewed

En esta propuesta se tomó como base el estudio y el comportamiento climatológico de la cuenca principal del río Bogotá con las características de su vegetación, con esto se determinará las especies nativas que se pueden producir, con sus requerimientos, y así, dar a conocer sobre su importancia, todo encaminado hacia el mejoramiento de las riberas del río, la preservación de la flora y fauna natural del territorio y el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de sus habitantes aledaños. Igualmente se propone un diseño de aprovechamiento para zonas duras como es la terraza del edificio de los laboratorios de la ciudadela el porvenir, este sistema estará conformado por los sistemas de almacenamiento, las líneas de transporte y de filtración del agua hasta su etapa final, que será a través de un sistema de riego por goteo. | This proposal was based on the study and the climatological behavior of the main basin of the Bogotá river with the characteristics of its vegetation, with this it will determine the native species that can be produced, with its requirements, and thus, make known about Its importance, all aimed at the improvement of river banks, the preservation of the natural flora and fauna of the territory and the improvement of the quality of life of its surrounding inhabitants. Likewise, it is proposed a design of use for hard areas such as the terrace of the building of the laboratories of the citadel the future, this system will be formed by storage systems, transport lines and water filtration until its final stage, which Will be through a drip irrigation system.

This study developed methodology for statistically assessing groundwater contamination mechanisms. It focused on microbial water pollution in low-income regions. Risk factors for faecal contamination of groundwater-fed drinking-water sources were evaluated in a case study in Juba, South Sudan. The study was based on counts of thermotolerant coliforms in water samples from 129 sources, collected by the humanitarian aid organisation Médecins Sans Frontières in 2010. The factors included hydrogeological settings, land use and socio-economic characteristics. The results showed that the residuals of a conventional probit regression model had a significant positive spatial autocorrelation (Moran’s I = 3.05, I-stat = 9.28); therefore, a spatial model was developed that had better goodness-of-fit to the observations. The most significant factor in this model (p-value 0.005) was the distance from a water source to the nearest Tukul area, an area with informal settlements that lack sanitation services. It is thus recommended that future remediation and monitoring efforts in the city be concentrated in such low-income regions. The spatial model differed from the conventional approach: in contrast with the latter case, lowland topography was not significant at the 5% level, as the p-value was 0.074 in the spatial model and 0.040 in the traditional model. This study showed that statistical risk-factor assessments of groundwater contamination need to consider spatial interactions when the water sources are located close to each other. Future studies might further investigate the cut-off distance that reflects spatial autocorrelation. Particularly, these results advise research on urban groundwater quality.

The interactions between groundwater and surface water have been significantly affected by human activities in the semi-arid Hailiutu catchment, northwest China. Several methods were used to investigate the spatial and temporal interactions between groundwater and surface water. Isotopic and chemical analyses of water samples determined that groundwater discharges to the Hailiutu River, and mass balance equations were employed to estimate groundwater seepage rates along the river using chemical profiles. The hydrograph separation method was used to estimate temporal variations of groundwater discharges to the river. A numerical groundwater model was constructed to simulate groundwater discharges along the river and to analyze effects of water use in the catchment. The simulated seepage rates along the river compare reasonably well with the seepage estimates derived from a chemical profile in 2012. The impacts of human activities (river-water diversion and groundwater abstraction) on the river discharge were analyzed by calculating the differences between the simulated natural groundwater discharge and the measured river discharge. Water use associated with the Hailiutu River increased from 1986 to 1991, reached its highest level from 1992 to 2000, and decreased from 2001 onwards. The reduction of river discharge might have negative impacts on the riparian ecosystem and the water availability for downstream users. The interactions between groundwater and surface water as well as the consequences of human activities should be taken into account when implementing sustainable water resources management in the Hailiutu catchment.

The Geba basin is one of the most food-insecure areas of the Tigray regional state in northern Ethiopia due to recurrent drought resulting from erratic distribution of rainfall. Since the beginning of the 1990s, rain-fed agriculture has been supported through small-scale irrigation schemes mainly by surface-water harvesting, but success has been limited. Hence, use of groundwater for irrigation purposes has gained considerable attention. The main purpose of this study is to assess groundwater resources in the Geba basin by means of a MODFLOW modeling approach. The model is calibrated using observed groundwater levels, yielding a clear insight into the groundwater flow systems and reserves. Results show that none of the hydrogeological formations can be considered as aquifers that can be exploited for large-scale groundwater exploitation. However, aquitards can be identified that can support small-scale groundwater abstraction for irrigation needs in regions that are either designated as groundwater discharge areas or where groundwater levels are shallow and can be tapped by hand-dug wells or shallow boreholes.

The challenges of a changing world, which are progressively threatening sustainable use of groundwater resources, can only be rationally and effectively addressed through close collaboration between experts and practitioners from different disciplines. Furthermore, science and management need to build on stakeholder opinions and processes in order to generate useful knowledge and positive outcomes in terms of sustainable and equitable groundwater management. This essay provides a discussion of the status of and vision for participatory and inter-disciplinary approaches to groundwater evaluation and management as well as a conceptual framework and relevant research questions that will facilitate such approaches.