Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

Urbanization modifies underlying groundwater systems. This may lead to adverse hydrological, water quality, geotechnical, or socio-economic effects, jeopardizing sustainability. To avoid these effects, management is required irrespective of whether the groundwater is to be used or not. This management must be based on a sound technical understanding of the interacting processes involved. The papers in the present volume explore the state of this understanding in the context of a wide range of countries, climates, and geologies.

Urban water supply problems are not limited to depletion of reserves, but include issues such as surface and groundwater contamination, deterioration of distribution systems, water table rise or decline, landslides, land subsidence, and increased seismic hazard. These problems often have social implications that can lead to serious economic damage. Analysis of the situation associated with the use and protection of urban groundwater in Azerbaijan, and of the Absheron peninsula in particular (where in our view there are major issues to be resolved), suggests that special approaches are necessary within urban hydrogeology. Evaluation of both static and time variant factors has allowed the setting up of a hydrogeological zoning system which has been trialled in the Absheron Peninsula, with encouraging results. It is hoped that this approach will form a sound basis for prognostic evaluation in urban areas elsewhere.

The historical development of water supply sources for the populations of Baku and the Absheron peninsula are described and their water-quality status indicated. The area is an intensely populated part of Azerbaijan subject to the pressures of the urbanization and increasing population densities. As such there are significant pressures on existing water resources and a need to identify supplementary supplies from groundwater sources. It is proposed that future supplies should come from the good quality groundwaters within the Quaternary deposits of the Greater Caucasus foothills of the Samur- Devechi plain. A further possible supply is from the Ganyh-Agrichai Plain.

Azerbaijan’s environment is under pressure. Flooding from irrigation canal leakage, irrigation return, blocked drainage systems, and leaking water pipes / sewers are the most significant problems. Associated phenomena include groundwater level rise, salinization, and fertilizer contamination. Since the start of the Samur-Absheron irrigation canal project, groundwater level has risen by up to 20 m. Rise in Caspian Sea level has also caused flooding. Landslides are triggered by slope erosion, irrigation, engineering works, and increased loading. Soil contamination is a major problem in the oilfields of the Absheron Peninsula. Mud volcanoes, deflation, internal erosion, and abrasion are widely developed. This evaluation marks the start of a geoenvironmental monitoring project within the Republic.

This paper focuses on the reasons underlying the continuing derogation of surface-water quality in Azerbaijan. Surface (river) water has been one of the main sources of fresh water. The major river systems used have their sources in neighbouring countries. There is, however, proven advantage of utilizing groundwater rather than surface water as a supply source for urbanized territories in Azerbaijan. The overarching reason being the greater natural protection of groundwaters from pollution relative to surface waters. An overview of water resources present and contamination problems observed is presented. A case for increased groundwater supply in Azerbaijan is presented as a solution to these challenging problems.

The discovery of new water sources, including groundwater, acquires great importance in states with a deficit of general water resources. This paper examines the scientific and technical aspects of evaluating the resources of hydrogeological structures, such as the alluvial cone deposits present in some mountain rivers, in the context of Azerbaijan. It also investigates the feasibility of diverting some of the sources of fresh groundwater in the Ganja and Agrichai regions, with the aim of providing a centralized water supply to all cities within the Republic.

Groundwater pollution in Turkey is examined. Important natural sources of groundwater pollution identified include seawater intrusion, discharges from contaminated lakes and streams, geothermal waters, and dissolution of minerals. The major sources of anthropogenic groundwater contamination identified are: agricultural pesticides and fertilizers; mining waste products; industrial waste; on–site septic tank systems; and pollution from poorly constructed wells. Although industrial waste and on–site septic tanks are important sources of anthropogenic pollution, because agricultural activities are very significant contributors to the Turkish economy, pollution from pesticides and fertilizers poses the larger threat.

The sustainability of the clastic Tertiary aquifers supplying the Corlu region of Turkey has been examined. It is found that: (i) with recharge of 194 million myear and abstraction of 271 million m/year, groundwater levels are declining annually by about 1 m; (ii) serious pollution has not been recorded in the region, and groundwater quality is satisfactory for industrial applications at least. Water quality is therefore less of a concern than water quantity. The latter, however, requires active intervention.

This study examines the effects of rapidly increasing industrial activities on groundwater levels in the Trakya Region of Turkey where groundwater is the main resource for industrial, agricultural, and domestic water supply. The Ergene River Basin (11,325 km) is the most important catchment, around half of which is underlain by the unconfined 600 m thick Çorlu/Ergene aquifer of Miocene / Pliocene age. Using water-table monitoring data from 13 monitoring wells the relation between potential pumping and water table fluctuation was evaluated. The average aquifer reserve and the total discharge of the area per year were determined as 340 and 460 Mm respectively. The annual recharge was calculated as 123 Mm. The results show that the total amount of discharge (outflow + withdrawal) is much higher than the groundwater recharge, i.e. the system is not sustainable.

Romania is the beneficiary of an important complex of water resources. The underground waters are estimated to contain about 9.6 x 10 m as a resource that can be exploited, such that supply is greater than demand. However, as various forms of water pollution are present in Romania, some sources of water have become unusable, giving the demand/supply ratio a more complex significance. Generally, fertilizers, livestock industry waste, and household effluents can be regarded as the main sources of groundwater pollution by nitrate. The Romanian environmental authorities have established provisional guidelines concerning the controls on discharge of three substances, including trichloroethene. The principles for the sustainable management of water resources, recommended at the Rio de Janeiro Conference (1992), also lie at the foundation of the concept of integrated water management in Romania, where the problems of water usage have to be balanced with the need to protect natural ecosystems.