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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Resources and Sustainable Utilization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2021) | Viewed by 15524

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jana Levison

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON NIG 2W1, Canada
Interests: hydrogeology; rural groundwater issues; groundwater quality; groundwater quantity; source water protection

Dr. Andrew Binns

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Guest Editor

School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON NIG 2W1, Canada
Interests: surface water hydraulics; hydrological processes; rivers and streams; sediment transport
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As Guest Editors, we invite you to submit a paper for consideration for publication in a Special Issue of Sustainability called “Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability”. Sustainability (Impact Factor: 2.576) is an international, peer-reviewed open access journal of environmental, cultural, economic, and social sustainability of human beings. It is published semi-monthly by MDPI.

Protecting water at the source is of critical importance for sustainable, safe drinking water supply and reducing adverse impacts on the environment. Source water includes groundwater, springs, lakes, and rivers from which drinking water is obtained. It is less expensive, more socially responsible, and better for the natural environment to safeguard these drinking water sources before they are over-exploited or contaminated. This Special Issue will focus on technical advances in source water protection (SWP) for both surface water and groundwater. Under various policy frameworks, much progress has been made worldwide for protecting drinking water sources, such as: the delineation of wellhead protection areas and surface water intake protection zones; quantity risk assessment through water budgeting and modelling exercises; and identification and modelling of threats to water quality. However, knowledge gaps persist surrounding protecting water sources in complex environments, including sensitive hydrogeological settings, urban watersheds with extensive, aging water infrastructure, and rural basins with intensive agricultural land use and non-municipal water supply infrastructure. Particular challenges exist for marginalized communities susceptible to unique threats and pressures that impact their SWP. Water-stressed basins need to be protected from adverse anthropogenic impacts that deteriorate water quality and lead to water quantity stress and over-exploitation. Moreover, climate change will impact protection of water sources through modifications in water quantity and water quality.

This Special Issue invites contributions that advance scientific knowledge, focusing on the protection of source waters for both urban and rural populations. Field research, laboratory experiments, and/or mathematical modeling studies of groundwater and surface water sources are welcomed.

Dr. Jana Levison
Dr. Andrew Binns
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

source water protection
watershed management
water supply infrastructure
groundwater quality
groundwater quantity
surface water quality
surface water quantity
municipal water sources
rural water sources
climate change
sustainability

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2676 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Septic System Impacts on Source Water: Two Novel Field Tracer Experiments in Fractured Sedimentary Bedrock

by Rachael Marshall, Jana Levison, Beth Parker and Edward McBean

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 1959; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14041959 - 09 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2027

Abstract

Septic systems are a common contributor of contaminants to groundwater that have implications for source water protection, particularly in fractured sedimentary bedrock environments. Two 24-h tracer experiments were performed that applied (1) the dye Lissamine Flavine FF and (2) three artificial sweeteners (acesulfame, sucralose, and cyclamate) in the leaching bed to examine solute transport from a single-family septic bed to a multilevel monitoring well installed in fractured sedimentary bedrock on a First Nation reserve in Southern Ontario, Canada. Tracer was first observed 3 h and 20 min after deployment, and breakthrough curves showed that multiple pathways likely exist between the septic bed and the monitoring well. Cyclamate concentrations were more elevated than expected compared to other studies that examined cyclamate’s attenuation in the laboratory and in porous media aquifers. Solute transport through the septic bed was analyzed with the numerical modeling software Hydrus 1D, which indicated that the septic bed may be too thin, located directly on bedrock, underlain by fractured soils, or bypassed through a short-circuit. The rapid transport of septic leachate to fractured sedimentary aquifers is problematic for First Nation and rural communities. More stringent regulations are needed for the design and use of septic systems in these environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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17 pages, 61428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Geoelectrical Survey and Time-Lapse Resistivity with Groundwater Data in Delineating a Groundwater Potential Map: A Case Study from Phuket Island, Thailand

by Avirut Puttiwongrak, Ratha Men, Sakanann Vann, Kiyota Hashimoto and Thongchai Suteerasak

Sustainability 2022, 14(1), 397; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010397 - 31 Dec 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2349

Abstract

Phuket is well-known around the world as a popular tourist destination. Tourism-related population growth depends more on groundwater as the only available source of potable water in Phuket. The proper precautions must be taken to reduce the risk of spending large sums of money in sinking abortive boreholes, and a groundwater potential map would enhance the success rate of future groundwater exploration and exploitation in the study area. Geoelectrical surveys were carried out in this study to collect electrical properties of the subsurface, and the Dar-Zarrouk parameters (DZP) were calculated using the geoelectrical data. The first thematic groundwater potential map was constructed using the interpretation of DZP, while the second thematic groundwater potential map was created using the basis maps of the depth-of-basement and aquifer thickness parameters. Finally, two thematic maps based on geographic information system (GIS) environments were overlaid on a groundwater potential map of Phuket. However, in order to provide a reliable assessment of groundwater potential, time-lapse electrical resistivity imaging was used to confirm the area of the high-potential zone indicated on the map. The map created by this study is aimed to act as a reference for future groundwater exploration and exploitation, preventing water supplies from becoming unsustainable through botched borehole drilling for groundwater production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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22 pages, 5464 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Multi-Year Simulation of Western Lake Erie Hydrodynamics and Biogeochemistry to Evaluate Nutrient Management Scenarios

by Qi Wang and Leon Boegman

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7516; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147516 - 06 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2730

Abstract

During the 1970s, harmful cyanobacteria (HFCB) were common occurrences in western Lake Erie. Remediation strategies reduced total P loads and bloom frequency; however, HFCB have reoccurred since the mid-1990s under increased system stress from climate change. Given these concurrent changes in nutrient loading and climate forcing, there is a need to develop management tools to investigate historical changes in the lake and predict future water quality. Herein, we applied coupled one-dimensional hydrodynamic and biogeochemical models (GLM–AED) to reproduce water quality conditions of western Lake Erie from 1979 through 2015, thereby removing the obstacle of setting and scaling initial conditions in management scenarios. The physical forcing was derived from surface buoys, airports, and land-based stations. Nutrient loads were reconstructed from historical monitoring data. The root-mean-square errors between simulations and observations for water levels (0.36 m), surface water temperature (2.5 °C), and concentrations of total P (0.01 mg L⁻¹), PO₄ (0.01 mg L⁻¹), NH₄ (0.03 mg L⁻¹), NO₃ (0.68 mg L⁻¹), total chlorophyll a (18.74 μg L⁻¹), chlorophytes (3.94 μg L⁻¹), cyanobacteria (12.44 μg L⁻¹), diatoms (3.17 μg L⁻¹), and cryptophytes (3.18 μg L⁻¹) were minimized using model-independent parameter estimation, and were within literature ranges from single year three-dimensional simulations. A sensitivity analysis shows that 40% reductions of total P and dissolved reactive P loads would have been necessary to bring blooms under the mild threshold (9600 MTA cyanobacteria biomass) during recent years (2005–2015), consistent with the Annex 4 recommendation. However, these would not likely be achieved by applying best management practices in the Maumee River watershed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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29 pages, 6073 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Models for Predicting Groundwater Quality in a River Basin of South India

by M. Annie Jenifer, Madan Kumar Jha and Amina Khatun

Sustainability 2021, 13(12), 6719; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126719 - 14 Jun 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2245

Abstract

India is the largest consumer of groundwater in the world, and it suffers from a groundwater crisis due to the overexploitation of groundwater and the deterioration of its quality at an alarming rate. Rapid urbanization, a growing population, and mismanagement are major driving forces behind these groundwater issues. Thus, increasing problems of water scarcity and water-quality deterioration threaten the sustainability of the water supply. This necessitates the development of novel approaches to assess prevailing groundwater quality scenarios at a large scale, which can help protect this vital freshwater resource from contamination. In this study, for the first time, the effectiveness of three Geographical Information System (GIS)-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) models (i.e., ‘Unit Weight’, ‘Rank Sum’, and ‘Analytic Hierarchy Process’) was explored for predicting groundwater quality in a river basin of Southern India. The seasonal concentrations of groundwater quality parameters, viz., Cl⁻, TDS, TH, F⁻, NO₃⁻-N, Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, K⁺, and SO₄²⁻, were considered for generating their thematic layers. Each thematic layer was classified into suitable feature classes based on the WHO guidelines for drinking water. The thematic layers and the feature classes of individual groundwater quality parameters were assigned relative weights according to the theories of the three MCDA models mentioned above. These thematic layers were then aggregated in GIS to develop Groundwater Quality Index (GQI) maps of the study area for pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Furthermore, the accuracy of the developed GQI maps was validated using relative operating characteristic curves. The results of the validation indicated that the GIS-based Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model outperformed with prediction accuracies of 71.4% in the pre-monsoon season and about 85% in the post-monsoon season. However, the performances of the Unit Weight and Rank Sum models were found to be average with prediction accuracies varying from 68% to 63% and 64% to 68%, respectively. Thus, the GIS-based AHP model can serve as a reliable scientific tool for predicting seasonal groundwater quality at a river basin scale. It can be very helpful to the policymakers for devising viable management strategies for groundwater protection as well as for ensuring a sustainable water supply. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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27 pages, 71396 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping the Vulnerability of Groundwater to Wastewater Spills for Source Water Protection in a Shale Gas Region

by Teresa Y. Rosales-Ramirez, Dirk Kirste, Diana M. Allen and Carl A. Mendoza

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3987; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073987 - 02 Apr 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2484

Abstract

Source water protection in areas of shale gas development encompasses identifying areas that are the most vulnerable to groundwater quality deterioration due to spills of natural gas production wastewater. This study uses the density-dependent flow and transport code TOUGH2 to quantify the time and distance of travel of saline wastewater plumes for different hydrogeological settings in Northeast British Columbia. The models were designed to address three main factors identified from the DRASTIC method for vulnerability assessment: (1) depth to water, (2) impact of vadose zone, and (3) conductivity of the aquifer materials. The vadose zone permeability and depth to water table are dominant controls on the wastewater migration rate and footprint. Overall, the vulnerability in the region is relatively low, with exceptions near river valleys and areas with shallow water tables. The vulnerability maps can be used as a preliminary risk assessment tool, as they are based on the main factors influencing the potential of a wastewater spill to contaminate an aquifer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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Review

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25 pages, 5351 KiB

Open AccessReview

Impacts of Event-Based Recharge on the Vulnerability of Public Supply Wells

by Andrew J. Wiebe, David L. Rudolph, Ehsan Pasha, Jacqueline M. Brook, Mike Christie and Paul G. Menkveld

Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7695; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147695 - 09 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2586

Abstract

Dynamic recharge events related to extreme rainfall or snowmelt are becoming more common due to climate change. The vulnerability of public supply wells to water quality degradation may temporarily increase during these types of events. The Walkerton, ON, Canada, tragedy (2000) highlighted the threat to human health associated with the rapid transport of microbial pathogens to public supply wells during dynamic recharge events. Field research at the Thornton (Woodstock, ON, Canada) and Mannheim West (Kitchener, ON, Canada) well fields, situated in glacial overburden aquifers, identified a potential increase in vulnerability due to event-based recharge phenomena. Ephemeral surface water flow and local ponding containing microbial pathogen indicator species were observed and monitored within the capture zones of public supply wells following heavy rain and/or snowmelt. Elevated recharge rates beneath these temporary surface water features were estimated to range between 40 and 710 mm over two-week periods using analytical and numerical modelling based on the water level, soil moisture, and temperature data. Modelling also suggested that such events could reduce contaminant travel times to a supply well, increasing vulnerability to water quality degradation. These studies suggest that event-based recharge processes occurring close to public supply wells may enhance the vulnerability of the wells to surface-sourced contaminants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Source Water Protection and Sustainability)

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