One of the key features of agricultural development in the last five decades has been intensive groundwater use in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh) and in the Yellow River Basin (China). Groundwater irrigates almost 60% of the net irrigated area in South Asia and 70% in the north China plains. Groundwater use for agriculture is still increasing. Despite the growing significance of groundwater to agricultural growth, food security and rural livelihoods globally, and at the same time significant signs of limitations and constraints for further use, knowledge of the subject has remained limited. The subject includes the wider issues of socioeconomic impacts, political economy, groundwater institutions, access to other resources like energy and land, approaches to resource governance and management and specifically integrating evidence-based science into management decisions. This book addresses these information shortfalls and provides a consolidated and cross-disciplinary source of information and documentation of realities and challenges of contemporary agricultural groundwater use and management in poverty-prone areas of Asia. It draws on primary data collected in the course of an innovative, cross-coordinated and inter-disciplinary fieldwork programme, covering those regions in Asia that significantly depend on groundwater for agricultural livelihoods. This work is essential reading for hydrogeologists, socio-economists, agro-economists and water managers working in poor countries. Donors and implementers, both government and NGO, will also learn from the experiences described in this book.

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Advances in Subsurface Contamination of Porous Media: Indicators, Processes and Modelling” will fill the gap of the necessity to develop a high level of knowledge of the processes concerning common and emergent contaminants through theirs passage from soil to groundwater. The book presents new methodologies and indicators to reach a better understanding of biogeochemical processes as a basis for environmental models. The combined use of the understanding of processes and models’ prognosis will inform researches and water managers and will provide the possibility for better management and preservation of water resources. The book will be a valuable reference for graduate students, researchers and professionals in government and public institutions, and for those interested in soil and groundwater contamination in various aspects.

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Groundwater is Africa’s most precious natural resource, providing reliable water supplies for many people. Further development of groundwater resources is fundamental to increasing access to safe water across the continent to meet coverage targets and reduce poverty. There is also an increasing interest in the use of groundwater for irrigated agriculture as the climate becomes more variable. Sustainable development of the resource is not a trivial task and depends crucially on an understanding of the hydrogeology and people with the skills to make informed decisions on how groundwater can best be developed and managed in a sustainable fashion. Despite these obvious needs, however, little attention has been paid to the systematic gathering of information about groundwater resources in the past few decades, with the result that data are patchy, knowledge is limited and investment is poorly targeted. This book was written to start to bridge the knowledge gap. The 29 chapters are written by a combination of practitioners and researchers mainly from within Africa using experience from recent and ongoing projects. The chapters highlight the complexity and variety of issues surrounding the development and management of groundwater resources across Africa, and provide a snapshot of groundwater research and application in the early 21st century. Chapters range from strategic discussions of the role of groundwater in development and poverty reduction, to case studies on techniques used to develop groundwater, and modelling methods for managing groundwater systems.

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Any sustainable groundwater development programme requires knowledge of the prevailing flow system, extending from local to regional scale. This book of selected papers, arising from the 23rd International Hydrogelogic Congress in Mexico in 2004, discusses integral ground-water management with scale flow issues and presents methods of defining, preventing, controlling and mitigating negative environmental impacts related to groundwater. It high-lights specific issues such as transboundary groundwater flow, groundwater recharge, ground-water mining, and groundwater flow in thick aquifers; and stresses the importance of the sustainable development of groundwater and its social and economic implications. The book will interest groundwater researchers and professionals, students, water resources specialists, government administrators and educators, and those interested in groundwater and the environment. This volume will provide the reader with new insights into the procedures and processes that are influenced by scale of the groundwater flow system.

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This volume presents the contemporary issues surrounding groundwater pollution risk assessment and the application of vulnerability and risk assessment maps for the effective protection and management of aquifers. Numerous new and improved approaches to intrinsic and specific vulnerability assessment (modified DRASTIC, GOD, VULK, VURAAS) are described, some coupled with geophysical and hydrological surveys and hydrodynamic and transport modelling. Widespread use is made of GIS format.

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By 2050, the demand for water to sustain world agriculture will increase by 75% in order to feed an estimated nine billion inhabitants. Increased amounts of water will be required for irrigation and for industrial and domestic use. Natural ecosystems will be threatened by the expansion of agricultural land and by a reduction in water availability, while climate change will exacerbate the situation. Management of available resources, particularly groundwater, will become more critical and aquifers will need to be managed for the benefit of all. These selected papers were first presented at the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Dijon 2006, and are divided into six themes: large aquifers, resource assessment; large aquifers, water salinity and evolution; karstic and carbonate aquifer systems; geothermal aquifer systems; aquifer contamination studies and aquifer monitoring systems and management. The volume also includes a short biography of Henry Darcy and illustrates his contribution to science. Five invited contributions describe modern methods for estimating the hydraulic conductivity of aquifers.

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This title comprises forty-four papers by authors from twenty–two countries who presented papers at the Groundwater in Fractured Rocks International Conference in Prague in 2003. It investigates crucial issues about the hydrogeology of fractured environments, including sustainable groundwater development, groundwater protection and management, new and improved approaches to the investigating hydrogeology of fractured systems, understanding hydrogeologic properties on a local and regional scale, and the quantitative and qualitative aspects of groundwater flow and solute/contaminant transport. The papers are grouped into six sections under the following main topics: * Hydrogeologic environment of fractured rocks * Conceptual models, groundwater flow, and resources in fractured rocks * Groundwater quality in fractured rocks * Investigation and interpretation methods in fractured environment * Anthropogenic impacts on fractured environment * Numerical modelling of fractured environment. This compendium summarizes the results achieved in recent years, as well as considering the direction of future investigations at an international level. The book is a valuable benchmark reference for studies in fractured rock hydrogeology worldwide and will be of value to practising hydrogeologists and environmental scientists, as well as planners and environmental managers.

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This book on challenges in urban groundwater showcases the best urban groundwater papers presented at the 32nd International Geological Congress held in Florence, Italy in August 2004, and is supplemented by contributions solicited from other world experts active in urban groundwater research. Topics covered range from the urban water balance and rising groundwater levels to groundwater contamination and the role of aquifer modelling. The book is dedicated to the late Dr. Matthias Eiswirth. Matthias was President of the German Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH), and Vice-Chair of the IAH Commission on Groundwater in Urban Areas. He was an outstanding research scientist and the book's contents reveal, directly and indirectly, the immense contribution Matthias made to urban groundwater science.

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