Effect of Groundwater Pumping on Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers

Abstract

Many aquifers around the globe are located in coastal areas and are thus subjected to the seawater intrusion phenomenon. The growth of population in coastal areas and the conjugate increase in human, agricultural, and industrial activities have imposed an increasing demand for freshwater. This increase in water demand is often covered by extensive pumping of fresh groundwater, causing subsequent lowering of the water table (or piezometric head) and upsetting the dynamic balance between freshwater and saline water bodies. The classical result of such a development is seawater intrusion. This paper presents a review for the seawater intrusion phenomenon in coastal aquifers. The effect of pumping activities on the seawater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer of Egypt is investigated. It was concluded that any additional pumping should be located in the middle Delta and avoided in the eastern and western sides of the Delta.

Vulnerability of Coastal Aquifers Due to Nutrient Pollution from Agriculture: Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka

“…Coastal sandy aquifers are also vulnerable to salinization due to many reasons such as seawater intrusion, extensive extraction of groundwater due to agricultural practices, leaching of deicing salts, and high rate of evapotranspiration and contamination of natural salts in aquifer media (Park et al 2005;Milnes et al 2006;Sherif and Singh 2002;Kim andYun 2005, Rosenthal et al 1992). Salinization of groundwater of coastal aquifers due to agricultural activities is twofold.…”

Effects of Aquifer Bed Slope and Sea Level on Saltwater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers

“…SEAWAT is applied on the Henry problem to study the effect of changing bed and seaside slopes on SWI considering a constant saltwater head of 100 cm at the seaside and a constant flux rate of (Q in ) 0.5702 m 3 /d/m at the land side. The seawater level is expected to increase due to climate change, and groundwater levels in coastal aquifers are expected to decrease due to the expected increase of groundwater abstractions to substitute for the reduction of rainfall and natural recharge [13,14]. Three cases were considered to study the effect changing groundwater and seawater levels on saltwater intrusion including: (a) increasing seawater head, (b) decreasing groundwater level at the land side, and (c) a combination of both.…”

“…The model was used to predict the effect of saltwater upconning on the salinity of pumped groundwater. Other researchers [12,13] investigated the seawater intrusion in the Nile Delta aquifer in the aerial view under different recharge conditions. The possible effects of climate change and possible seawater level rise on SWI in the Nile Delta aquifer of Egypt and the Madras aquifer of India were investigated using a numerical model [14].…”

Assessment of aquifer vulnerability to industrial waste water using resistivity measurements. A case study, along El-Gharbyia main drain, Nile Delta, Egypt

“…The thickness of the aquifer ranges from 100-400 m in the southern Nile Delta to 400-1000 m in the north. Mit Ghamr aquifer is a leaky aquifer overlain by a semipervious Holocene clay cap of Bilqas Formation and underlain by impermeable Pliocene shale of Kafer El Sheikh Formation (Said, 1990 andSherif andSingh, 2002). The Holocene Bilqas Formation is a coastal lagoonal deposit made up of silts and sandy mud constituting the agricultural soil of the delta.…”