Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer
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Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer Status Report 2009 We are the Environment Agency. It's our job to look after your environment and make it a better place - for you, and for future generations. Your environment is the air you breathe, the water you drink and the ground you walk on. Working with business, Government and society as a whole, we are making your environment cleaner and healthier. The Environment Agency. Out there, making your environment a better place. Environment Agency Rio House Waterside Drive, Aztec West Almondsbury, Bristol BS32 4UD Tel: 0870 8506506 Email: [email protected] www.environment-agency.gov.uk © Environment Agency All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. Environment Agency Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer Status Report 2009 Contents 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 2 2 Geology beneath London............................................................................................................. 3 3 Groundwater beneath London ..................................................................................................... 5 4 Why we need to manage groundwater levels.............................................................................. 7 5 How we manage groundwater levels........................................................................................... 9 6 Recent Abstraction trends.......................................................................................................... 10 7 Groundwater levels for January 2009........................................................................................ 11 Recent Changes in Groundwater Levels................................................................................... 11 Long Term Changes in Groundwater Levels............................................................................. 11 8 Current licensing strategy .......................................................................................................... 13 9 Recent and developing management issues............................................................................. 15 Open Loop Ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems .......................................................... 15 Thames Tideway Tunnel............................................................................................................ 16 Crossrail..................................................................................................................................... 16 Source Protection Zones ........................................................................................................... 16 10 Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 18 Figures.............................................................................................................................................. 19 Appendix A London Basin Hydrographs List of abbreviations Environment Agency Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer 1 Status Report 2009 1 Introduction Thames Region of the Environment Agency produces an annual report on the state of groundwater levels in the Chalk aquifer beneath London. This is the eighteenth such report (previously called ‘Groundwater Levels in the Chalk-Basal Sands Aquifer of the London Basin’). The reports were started in the 1990s to record the rise in groundwater levels, resulting from a significant reduction in groundwater abstraction from the Chalk aquifer beneath London, which started during the mid-1960s. The rising groundwater and the re-saturation of the Chalk and overlying deposits can potentially affect the stability of buildings and tunnels. However, falling groundwater levels and de-saturation of the Chalk can impact local abstractors ability to abstract groundwater. This report aims to describe the current condition of groundwater levels and abstraction within the Chalk and understand any changes seen in recent years. The area looked at within this report is shown in Figure 1. In order to manage groundwater levels to protect infrastructure and water resources, this monitoring data is used to see if changes to the local licensing policy need to be made to manage groundwater levels further. The current licensing policy is described as well as new and developing issues for groundwater management in the London Basin. Environment Agency Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer 2 Status Report 2009 2 Geology beneath London The geology of the London Basin is shown in Figure 2. Table 1 shows the geological formations found within the London Basin, the geological age that they were formed and their typical thickness. Table 1 Geology of the London Basin Era Group Formation Thickness (m) Palaeogene Thames Bagshot Formation 10 – 25 Claygate Member 30-90 London Clay Harwich Formation 0-10 Lambeth Woolwich and Reading Beds 10-20 Upnor Formation 5-7 Thanet Sands 0-30 Cretaceous Chalk 180-245 From the British Geological Survey Memoir Geology of London, 2004 As Table 1 shows, the Cretaceous sediments comprise of Chalk, and are overlain by Tertiary deposits of Thanet Sands, which consists of a fine sand, the Lambeth Group, comprising of sands, silts and clays, and Harwich Formation, comprising of sands and gravels. Overlying the Lambeth Group is London Clay, a dense blue/grey fissured clay. The Bagshot Formation, Bracklesham Formation and Claygate Member overlie the London Clay. Approximately half of the surface geology of the London Basin is formed by these younger deposits. These deposits form the London Basin Syncline, which is asymmetric in shape. The northern limb of the syncline dips shallowly at around 1 degree to the south east, from its high point in the Chilterns. The southern limb in places dips steeply at up to 55 degrees at the Hogsback near Guildford in Surrey, decreasing in an easterly direction to 18 degrees at Gomshall and then to 1 degree at Dorking. The London Clay is up to 80 metres thick at Hammersmith in the west, and Rainham in the east, and confines the Chalk aquifer over most of London. The depth to chalk increases to the southwest of the central basin area, with the greatest depth to Chalk in the basin at Chertsey, encountered at over 160 m below surface. Two major faults are present in the south side of the London Basin. The Wimbledon Fault extends from Chessington through Malden, Wimbledon to Deptford. The downthrown block is the north west side of the fault, and has caused movements of beds as high as the London Clay, which is in contact with the Lambeth Group at East Dulwich. The Greenwich Fault runs parallel to the Wimbledon Fault from Mitcham, through West Norwood, Lewisham, Greenwich to Beckton. The downthrown side is also to the north, bringing the chalk into horizontal contact with the Thanet Sand, which contacts Lambeth Group at Lewisham. The maximum displacement is approximately 30 m. Numerous minor faults cross-cut the syncline and have led to the formation of domes, and cause the depth to chalk to vary significantly across the London Basin. The structures have resulted in high ground such as Hampstead-Highgate, Wimbledon and Blackheath, and has brought the chalk to shallow depth below ground and even to outcrop within the basin in the Lee Valley, Deptford, Lewisham, and around the River Thames from Greenwich to Woolwich. In 2008 the British Geological Survey (BGS) completed a geological study of the London Basin for the Environment Agency. Their key findings regarding the basin structure were: Environment Agency Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer 3 Status Report 2009 o In the northern part of the basin structural contours indicate gentle, low amplitude and long wavelength folding. This is in contrast to that observed in the southern part, where folding is more numerous, higher in amplitude and shorter in wavelength. o In the northern part, the Chalk dips to the south east at up to 0.7 degrees and the dip is not observed to steepen against structures. However, in the southern part, the dip is generally between 0.7 and 2 degrees to the north west and the dips steepen against structures up to a maximum of 14 degrees. o No evidence for faulting was found in the borehole logs in the northern part. However, numerous small-scale faults were recognised within the southern part. o In the central basin area new faults orientations are proposed (Figure 2), which are supported by the distribution of Lambeth Group deposits. o the known area of complexity within the Lambeth Group of London coincides with the proposed fault pattern. The faults appear to have had a persistent control on the extent of marine transgression and regression during Lambeth Group time, and presumably throughout the Palaeogene, and may control amount and type of sedimentation. Environment Agency Management of the London Basin Chalk Aquifer 4 Status Report 2009 3 Groundwater beneath London The Chalk aquifer is the major aquifer of the London Basin. The Chalk is confined in the basin by the overlying Tertiary formations, which means recharge largely occurs in the Chalk outcrops of the Chilterns to the north and the North Downs to the south. The outcrop to the north of the London Basin is extensive, extending from the outskirts of London at Uxbridge in the west, in a northeasterly direction to Borehamwood and north