Linear time series modelling for groundwater level forecasting: the case study of the fractured aquifer system of Monsummano terme (central Italy)

Groundwater level, forecasting, Tuscany, Auto Regressive models (AR)

Using the hydrochemical database TANGCHIM to manage groundwater quality data: the case study of a leachate plume from a dumping area

Pollution, landfill, Alpine fluvial valley, TANGCHIM database

Banca dati idrogeologica TANGRAM©: strumento per elaborazioni quantitative di dati per la valutazione delle acque sotterranee - The hydrogeological well database TANGRAM©: a tool for data processing to support groundwater assessment

At the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Milano-Bicocca (DISAT-UNIMIB), a hydrogeological well database, called TANGRAM©, has been developed and published on line at www.TANGRAM.samit.unimib.it, developing an earlier 1989 DOS version. This package can be used to store, display, and process all data related to water wells, including administrative information, well characteristics, stratigraphic logs, water levels, pumping rates, and other hydrogeological information. Currently, the database contains more than 39.200 wells located in the Italian region of Lombardy (90%), Piedmont (9%) and Valle d'Aosta (1%). TANGRAM© has been created both as a tool for researches and for public administration's administrators who have projects in common with DISAT-UNIMIB. Indeed, transferring wells data from paper into TANGRAM© offers both an easier and more robust way to correlate hydrogeological data and a more organized management of the administrative information. Some Administrations use TANGRAM© regularly as a tool for wells data management (Brescia Province, ARPA Valle Aosta). An innovative aspect of the database is the quantitative extraction of stratigraphic data. In the part of the software intended for research purposes, all well logs are translated into 8-digit alphanumeric codes and the user composes the code interpreting the description at each stratigraphic level. So the stratigraphic well data can be coded, then quantified and processed. This is made possible by attributing a weight to the digits of the code for textures. The program calculates the weighted percentage of the chosen lithology, as related to each individual layer. These extractions are the starting point for subsequent hydrogeological studies: well head protection area, reconstruction of the dynamics of flow, realization of the quarry plans and flux and transport hydrogeological models. The results of a two-dimensional distribution of coarse, medium and fine sized material in the first 80 meters of depth are presented here for a study area located within the Province of Brescia (Italy)

How to manage potential groundwater contaminations by As, Fe and Mn in lower Po Plain: a proposal from the case study of Cremona

The Legislative Decree 152/06 on environmental regulations also governs polluted site remediation (Part IV). A potentially contaminated site is defined when concentrations exceed the limits reported in the Attachment 5 (Title V). Nevertheless, the Legislative Decree 152/06 considers the possibility of higher limits than Attachment 5 for trace elements in the case of natural high contents by the definition of natural background levels. The lower Po Plain is characterized by high natural concentrations of As, Fe and Mn in groundwater and, at the same time, is one of the most important areas for the Italian productive system, and thus, possible direct sources of As, Fe and Mn or indirect anthropogenic influences could also exist. Therefore, an operative tool is required to determine the natural background levels and to understand if measured high concentrations are attributable to natural backgrounds or to anthropogenic sources/influences, and consequently, to decide on the beginning of the administrative procedure requested by the Legislative Decree 152/09 through the site characterization phase. This work presents a proposal of procedure to manage potentially contaminated site by As, Fe and Mn in the lower Po Plain, that was developed in the framework of a scientific collaboration between the Province of Cremona and the University of Milano-Bicocca. The procedure involves the following four steps, preceded by the derivation of natural background levels as step zero: (1) comparing new measurements to natural background levels; (2) testing the presence of direct anthropogenic sources of As, Fe and Mn; (3) excluding false positives and (4) testing the presence of indirect anthropogenic influences on As, Fe and Mn concentrations. The operative application of the proposed procedure is actually under consideration by the Province of Cremona

Preliminary groundwater modelling by considering the interaction with superficial water: Aosta plain case (northern Italy)

The study is developed through scientific cooperation between the University of Milano-Bicocca and the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA) of the Valle d'Aosta Region. Its aim is to produce a decision-support tool to help the Public Administration'manage groundwater and public water supply. The study area is the plain of Aosta, between the cities of Aymavilles and Brissogne; in this area groundwater represents the main source of public water supply. The valley is oriented east-west, along the Baltea for a length of 13.1 km and a width of 4.6 km. The textural and hydrogeological properties of the deposits are strictly connected to glacial deposition and to the subsequent sedimentary processes which took place in glacial, lacustrine and fluvial systems. The study is based on available well information in the Aosta plain - including water wells (133) and piezometers (121) - which have been coded and stored in the well database TANGRAM,. The database facilitates interpretation of the well data, and it allows three-dimensional mapping of subsurface hydrogeological characteristics through database codification and ordinary kriging interpolation. The study is designed to achieve two objectives. The first is to provide the Aosta Public Authorities with a well database in order to simplify groundwater management. The second is to provide Public Authorities with a groundwater flow model of the local aquifer. The model integrates surface and subsurface flows in order to fully account for all important stresses, both natural and anthropogenic, on the groundwater system. It provides a tool for testing hypotheses (such as the impact of new wells) and thereby allows science-based management of the aquifer resource

Deriving Natural Background Levels of Arsenic at the Meso-Scale Using Site-Specific Datasets: An Unorthodox Method

Arsenic is found in groundwater above regulatory limits in many countries and its origin is often from natural sources, making the definition of Natural Background Levels (NBLs) crucial. NBL is commonly assessed based on either dedicated small-scale monitoring campaigns or large-scale national/regional groundwater monitoring networks that may not grab local-scale heterogeneities. An alternative method is represented by site-specific monitoring networks in contaminated/polluted sites under remediation. As a main drawback, groundwater quality at these sites is affected by human activities. This paper explores the potential for groundwater data from an assemblage of site-specific datasets of contaminated/polluted sites to define NBLs of arsenic (As) at the meso-scale (order of 1000 km2). Common procedures for the assessment of human influence cannot be applied to this type of dataset due to limited data homogeneity. Thus, an \u201cunorthodox\u201d method is applied involving the definition of a consistent working dataset followed by a statistical identification and critical analysis of the outliers. The study was conducted in a highly anthropized area (Ferrara, N Italy), where As concentrations often exceed national threshold limits in a shallow aquifer. The results show that site-specific datasets, if properly pre-treated, are an effective alternative for the derivation of NBLs when regional monitoring networks fail to catch local-scale variability

Hydrogeological conceptual model of a highly impacted watershed: the case study of Oglio river (n Italy)

Oglio River watershed, Italy, water bodies, TANGRAM, groundwater discharge

Promotion of manual drilling in Guinea Bissau: mapping suitable zones and estimating the potential

Guinea Bissau has made large strides in water supply, but still 35% of villages have no access to safe water. UNICEF is promoting alternative solutions to ensure a proper water supply in these small communities, for example manual drilling. For these reason a mapping study to identify suitable zones for these techniques has been carried out in 2016, using existing groundwater data and the experience from local experts. 88% of Guinea Bissau is considered with feasible hydrologeogical conditions for manual drilling. In 63% of the regions where this technique is applicable, it is adequate for villages of small-medium size. Taking into consideration the results of this study, it seems evident that the promotion of manual drilling could be a valid alternative to improve the situation of access to safe water especially in rural areas

Promotion of manual drilling in Guinea

In the last decade UNICEF has supported manual drilling in several countries as a possible low cost and sustainable strategy to increase adequate water supply for the population. In partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders, UNICEF has implemented different activities to ensure high professional level in manual drilling: mapping of suitable zones, capacity building in construction of drilling tools and application of different drilling techniques, good practice in manual drilling, organization management. In Guinea manual drilling was unknown before 2011; at that time the joint program of SNAPE (National Water Authority) and UNICEF aiming to create an efficient manual drilling sector started, and after 3 years Guinea can be considered one of the most positive example of implementation of this program

Identification of suitable zones for manual drilling using borehole data, thematic maps and remote sensing

Manual drilling is a possible option to increase access to safe water with low cost techniques, but it can be applied only where hydrogeological conditions are suitable. To improve the method to produce maps of suitable zones for manual drilling, a research project has been carried out in Senegal and Guinea. The main objective is to elaborate a new method of interpretation of hydrogeological data and integrate indirect environmental information obtained from public data, available all over the world. The final results are more reliable and detailed maps to support manual drilling implementation, as well specific tools and method to process water point data. This paper presents the results obtained in Senegal and suggests some recommendations for future application