Groundwater modeling and management in a complex lake-aquifer system

In this paper, the hydrogeologic analysis and the development of a numerical model for the simulation of a complex system of aquifers in Northern Greece are presented. The study area faces a severe environmental danger as the unsustainable water consuming practices have resulted in negative water balance and severe water shortage. Based on field data and in-situ measurements carried out by several research groups during the last 30 years, a conceptual model is developed, that alters what scientists believed to date as far as the hydraulic communication between the shallow and the deep aquifer, as well as the lake-aquifer interaction are concerned. Based on the assumptions of the conceptual model, a numerical model has been developed in order to investigate the regional groundwater flow in the aquifers. The Modflow program has been used for its implementation. The results have verified firstly that a marginal hydraulic contact between the 2 aquifers is permitted, and secondly that the assumed relation between the lake's water volume and the aquifer's water table fluctuations is practically negligible. The dramatic decrease in the lake's water reserves by 90%, as the model results show, is mainly due to the reversing of the torrent-aquifer interrelation. Finally, the model is used as a management tool for the restoration of the aquifer as well as of the lake. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006

Arsenic contamination in central Macedonia, northern Greece: Extent of the problem and potential solutions

Summarization: Hydrogeochemical surveys of surface and ground waters in Central Macedonia found arsenic concentrations above the permissible level for drinking water (Directive 98/83/EC). About 30.000 people are drinking water exceeding the permissible level (10 μg/L) for arsenic and in some potable water wells the arsenic concentrations is exceeding 70 μg/L. The presence of arsenic is attributed to natural sources such as certain clay beds in river delta deposits, and geothermal waters, as well as anthropogenic causes such as mine waters. A new innovative technology that is based on iron filings was field tested at the potable water supply well of the municipality of Chalastra and removed arsenic to levels below the drinking water standardsΠαρουσιάστηκε στο: Restoration and Protection of the Environment V

Arsenic removal from groundwater using zero valent iron – pilot application in geothermal regions

Μη διαθέσιμη περίληψηNot available summarizationΠαρουσιάστηκε στο: Restoration and Protection of the Environment VI

A mathematical programming approach to restore the water balance of the hydrological basin of Lake Koronia

Over the last four decades Lake Koronia, part of the Mygdonia Basin, operates under a negative water balance due to poor resource management and planning decisions. Lake Koronia is a Ramsar site in northern Greece that has experienced pronounced ecosystem degradation over the past 30 years associated with water level reduction and nutrient loading from agricultural and industrial activities. The objective of the present study is the optimal design of an environmental policy for theoretical and potentially in practice return to a sustainable state of the watershed of Lake Koronia and recommend a rational water resource management plan for the area to promote and support development. The use of mathematical modelling tools can assist in making the right decisions with respect to the water management. The increased complexity of simply managing ecosystems, due to many overlapping factors that affect the water balance, impedes the derivation of the optimal policy to address the problems. This paper presents an optimisation model that takes into account all potential investment options that will allow the restoration of the lake and surrounding area to a sustainable level, and determines the optimal operating policy to allow the ecosystem to recover while maintaining the financial stability of the area. Investment options include the transfer of water from larger water sources, creation of irrigation networks and canals, provision of subsidies to promote alternative land use for agriculture and others. The restoration of a sustainable positive water balance for the basin is possible even if future climatic conditions become more arid than the current. Critical aspects are crop manipulation, irrigation networks and a policy to manage water as a commodity rather than an unlimited resource