Groundwater abstraction quantity from the Chalk is limited to what is sustainable. Water quality data collected in the 1970s and 1980s have been compared with modern water quality monitoring data for 25 public supply abstraction sites. This comparison has established that there has been both substantial (magnitude) and significant (statistical) change in composition at all sites. Identified changes generally represent real changes in groundwater composition. At some sites in the south of the area considered, water that is not the result of present-day recharge processes is being replaced by water from present-day recharge. It is also clear that, at those sites where ancient brackish water is known to be present at depth, it is generally not being mobilised by pumping. In the north of the area, changes are more subtle but there is a tendency of groundwater composition to approach the regional average, apart from calcium which is trending higher. Nitrate has not increased here, suggesting that reduction is a still-active process. Thus, although quantity has been sustained, quality is changing but not to a degree that impacts potable use.
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Research Article|
October 09, 2024
Early Publication
Long term changes in Chalk groundwater quality in East Anglia, UK
John A Heathcote
1
John Heathcote Consulting Ltd
, 15 Woodland Park, Contin
, Strathpeffer IV14 9EU, UK
Correspondence: [email protected]
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Correspondence: [email protected]
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Received:
30 Apr 2024
Revision Received:
27 Sep 2024
Accepted:
27 Sep 2024
First Online:
09 Oct 2024
Online ISSN: 2041-4803
Print ISSN: 1470-9236
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by The Geological Society of London. All rights, including for text and data mining (TDM), artificial intelligence (AI) training, and similar technologies, are reserved. For permissions: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/permissions-policy. Publishing disclaimer: https://www.lyellcollection.org/publishing-hub/publishing-ethics
© 2024 The Author(s)
Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology (2024) qjegh2024-072.
Article history
Received:
30 Apr 2024
Revision Received:
27 Sep 2024
Accepted:
27 Sep 2024
First Online:
09 Oct 2024
Citation
John A Heathcote; Long term changes in Chalk groundwater quality in East Anglia, UK. Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology 2024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1144/qjegh2024-072
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