Management of Groundwater and Surface Water Resources in the Infiltration Area "Het Gooi" and Adjacent Wetlands
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Conjunctive Water Use (Proceedings of the Budapest Symposium, July 1986). IAHS Publ.no. 156,1986. Management of groundwater and surface water resources in the infiltration area "Het Gooi" and adjacent wetlands M.C.H. WITMER Department of Environmental Studies, University of Utrecht, P. O. Box 80115, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands ABSTRACT Pollution of pumping wells and the extinction of species of vegetation that depend on a supply of fresh water of good quality, compel changes in water resources management in the area "Het Gooi" in The Netherlands. Our department is studying the effects of new management strategies. The amount and direction of the water exchange between the upper aquifer and the covering layer, ditches, lakes, and canals were calculated with a finite element model for different pumping strategies and natural groundwater recharge rates. The results were compared with precipitation deficits during the growing season. Existing data on the quality of supplementary water were gathered and samples taken of groundwater and surface water. Improvement of the water supply will be possible if (a) groundwater withdrawal decreases, (b) influent seepage is divided among wetlands having a deficit, (c) infiltration of polluted water is prevented, and (d) lowering of the surface-water level ceases. INTRODUCTION The moraine ridges in the central Netherlands are reservoirs of fresh groundwater. Despite natural recharge by precipitation, the amount of groundwater of good quality in these areas is diminishing due to human activities. The decline in the quantity and quality of fresh groundwater resources results in problems. Most vulnerable are drinking water supplies. Indirectly, the decrease of groundwater flow, caused by the lowering of the groundwater level, means a decrease in the supply of surface water in the adjacent areas with influent seepage. Here wetland ecosystems are very vulnerable to changes in water quantity and quality. This paper deals with an area in which the conflicting utilization of the water resources has raised complex problems that can only be solved by coherent management of groundwater and surface water. Several regional authorities share responsibility in the necessary 535 536 M.C.H.Witmer decision-making. The consequences of different means of management are being studied in order to contribute to a scientific basis for making political decisions. Our interdisciplinary research program is investigating the hydrological processes related to groundwater and surface water systems, as well as the impact of hydrological conditions on vegetation (Barendregt et al., in prep.). The failure of management policy to deal adequately with the threat to the water resources has been analyzed by Van der Baan & Glasbergen (1984). Methods and preliminary results of the hydrological part of our research program are presented. The relation of the hydrological part to other disciplines concerned in the research program is indicated. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AREA UNDER INVESTIGATION Geography The "Het Gooi" infiltration area is 100 km2 and has a maximum elevation of 30 m a.m.s.l.. It is situated between the cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht (Fig.l) and is densely populated (1,700 persons E-i-881 Built-up area —*- F|ow direction surface water • ••• Infiltration area -0.40 Surface water level m a.m.s.l. © Pumping-station ,__, Weir^ controlling flow in principal canals -1.70 Polder with surface water level m a.m.s.l. _^_ SeWage water discharge Contourline Amsterdam ordinance level _. __, Location of geohydrological cross-section FIG.l Location of the area investigated. Management of "Het Gooi" water resources 537 per km2) because of this location. Some metal and chemical industries have developed here. To the west, the area slopes downward to polder land with an elevation of -3.0 - 0.5 m a.m.s.l.. Agriculture and peat mining over the centuries have changed this land into a small-scale landscape with lakes and fens that are of high ecological value. Part of these have been put on the list of internationally important wetlands (Ramsar Convention). However, the whole polder land meets the conditions necessary to be included on this list. Geohydrology The unconfined aquifer in the infiltration area consists of preglacial fluvial sands and gravel of which the upper 60 m have been reshaped into a moraine ridge (Fig.2). Marine clay forms the base of the aquifer and a discontinuous semi-permeable layer of fluvial clay divides it into an upper and a lower part. Inclined clay layers in the moraine make the upper part of the aquifer anisotropic. The semi-confined aquifer in the adjacent polder land lies on marine clay and is covered by peat, fluvial clay, or lacustrine clay. Fluvial clays that are continuous in the southern and discontinuous in the northern part of the study area form a semi-permeable layer that divides the aquifer into an upper and lower part. The previously formed glacial valley east of the moraine ridge is covered with lacustro-glacial clay and was successively filled up -150 miiDiiuuiiu; i iiiniiiuiiHilnmn ,iiiiniiiiniiiiMiiiimr. -777777777777777777777777777777, §§jij§§ij Peat/lacustnne & fluviatile clay IMim Fluviatile clay ^200' Y/A Marine clay f " ' 'I Eolian sand [ | Fluviatile/fluvioglacial sand & gravel Aquifers ["''",,'.] Ice-pushed fluviatile sand & gravel Groundwater level in upper aquifer -250 50 Horizontal hydraulic conductivity m day Revised geological data based on Ruegg, 1974 FIG.2 Geohydrological cross section. 538 M.C.H.Witmer with fluvioglacial sand, marine clay, eolian sand, and peat. Three semi-confined aquifers exist here. Water resources The Netherlands have a temperate maritime climate. The area studied receives an average annual precipitation of 800 mm, of which 415 mm fall in the growing season (April-September). The mean evaporation rate of an open water surface, calculated with the Penman equation with data based on measurements obtained from the nearest meteorological station, is 670 mm year"1, of which 575 mm evaporate in the growing season (Buishand & Velds, 1980). The precipitation excess during the months October-March replenishes the groundwater supply in the infiltration area. This results in the flow of fresh groundwater from this area toward the polders that continues during the growing season. The largest amount of influent seepage exists in a former lake that was reclaimed at the end of the 19th century. Today, the water here is kept at a level of -3.5 m a.m.s.l. (Fig.l). This depression in the groundwater level, combined with the discontinuity in the semi-permeable layer that separates the upper from the lower aquifer, causes the intrusion of saltwater. It originated from the lower aquifer in the northwest and extends into the center of the reclaimed land. To satisfy the water needs of the population, 18 million m3 year"1 of groundwater are pumped from the infiltration area. Approximately half of the total sewage water discharge flows into the canals of the adjacent polder land. The surface water level in the polders is artificially controlled. Water surpluses are discharged into the principal canals and into the river "Vecht". Deficits are supplemented by taking water from the same river or "Lake IJ". As some of the principal canals receive sewage effluent, extra intake of water is necessary to wash this away. WATER MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS IN "HET GOOI" The situation described above has led to the following problems of water management: (a) The groundwater withdrawal from the infiltration area and the reduced natural recharge caused by the transportation of precipitation from the urban areas have lowered the groundwater level. Hence, the flow of fresh groundwater toward the polders has decreased. The drought and extremely high pumpage between 1970 and 1980 reduced the groundwater level to a minimum. The direction of groundwater flow was almost reversed from the polders to the infiltration area. (b) The degree to which the water level of peat soils in the polders is managed in order to improve pasture land, has given rise to problems that are related in a vicious circle. The water level is lowered to improve the supporting capacity of the soil, while this lowering itself causes a decrease in the level of the ground due to mineralization. Thus, a renewed lowering of the water level becomes necessary. The wetland ecosystems have become islands with Management of "Bet Gooi" water resources 539 relatively high water levels. They lose water to the surrounding pasture land. Lowering of the water level in these wetlands causes eutrophication because nitrates are released in the mineralization process. For the agricultural reasons described above, no buffering stock of water can be built up in the polders during wet seasons for utilization in periods of shortage. The quality of the supplementary water that is needed to maintain the water level in the case of deficit is not sufficiently high to meet the demands of the wetland vegetation. As a result, species are becoming extinct. (c) Households and industries have polluted the groundwater at several sites in the infiltration area. It consists of an unconfined aquifer with high permeability. In the majority of cases, the pollution results from past activities, but some pollution still goes on in the present. Polluted groundwater has reached several pumping wells. Furthermore, polluted water may make its way to the polders. FORMULATION OF WATER MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES The problems in "Het Gooi" and developments in water planning activities on a national and regional scale have led to the establishment of a committee that is investigating possibilities for the improvement of groundwater and surface water management. The developments referred to above include: (a) In 1983, a national groundwater act was passed that charged the provincial governments with the formulation of integrated groundwater plans. A draft act is being made that provides for the development of wide-ranging water economy plans.