The Chalk Aquifers of Northern Europe
CONTAINS OPEN ACCESS
The Cretaceous Chalk aquifers of Northern Europe underlie and support many sensitive ecosystems whilst at the same time being an important source of drinking water. This volume brings together the outcomes of numerous projects and case studies to provide the latest applied and theoretical understanding of all aspects of Chalk hydrogeology in Northern Europe.
Groundwater level monitoring of Danish chalk and limestone aquifers to survey trends in quantitative status and groundwater resources
-
Published:September 07, 2023
-
CiteCitation
H. J. Henriksen, B. Nilsson, C. Ditlefsen, L. Troldborg, L. Thorling, 2023. "Groundwater level monitoring of Danish chalk and limestone aquifers to survey trends in quantitative status and groundwater resources", The Chalk Aquifers of Northern Europe, R. P. Farrell, N. Massei, A. E. Foley, P. R. Howlett, L. J. West
Download citation file:
- Share
Abstract
Chalk and limestone aquifers contribute one-third of the drinking water supply in Denmark, and one-sixth of that national groundwater resource is assessed as having a ‘Poor’ status in terms of the quantitative Water Framework Directive due to intensive abstraction. This paper describes the national groundwater level monitoring network with regard to the following three applications: (1) when used for the annual surveying and reporting of groundwater resources and impacts from climate and groundwater abstraction; (2) as part of real-time monitoring and modelling for daily and seasonal forecasting; and (3) for tracking long-term climate change impacts on groundwater levels. Groundwater level monitoring provides a particularly important indicator of abstraction pressure and sustainable balance compared with recharge.
Many larger chalk and limestone groundwater bodies in Denmark are only monitored by local water companies and not represented in the national groundwater level network. This raises the concern that current national groundwater level monitoring does not fully support integrated modelling and assessment purposes for chalk and limestone groundwater bodies. This also implies that, for tracking long-term climate change and anthropogenic impacts on groundwater levels, the national groundwater monitoring network especially lacks long-term records with complete 30-year time-series for many intensively exploited large chalk and limestone aquifers.