As a source of water, groundwater obtained from beneath the Earth’s surface is often cheaper, more convenient and less vulnerable to pollution than surface water. Groundwater, because it is unnoticed underground, is often unacknowledged and undervalued resulting in adverse environmental, economic and social consequences. Only under-experienced and careless abstraction from hydrogeological unsuitable wells can cause detrimental effects of land subsidence, saline water intrusion and the drying out of surface waters and wetlands.
KRIETER WATER & ENVIRONMENT is strictly regarding for its own consultancy, that the principle of sustainable groundwater abstraction has to be implemented right in the beginning of a water supply planning.
For example the following methods and properties are necessary:
- long term (interference) aquifer tests, which best represent its behavior under real conditions.
- water quality in different aquifer depths (depth profiling)
- detailed calculation of groundwater recharge
- groundwater flow directions, impacts of land use in the catchment area, potential pollution etc.
KRIETER WATER & ENVIRONMENT is convinced, that the valuable benefits from a sustainable groundwater abstractions are:
- long term assurance of abstraction rates
- long term assurance of stable water quality
- prevention of contamination by integrated groundwater protection management in the catchment area
- long term preserving the value of the water supply investment.
