Overview

Groundwater is an indispensable natural resource for domestic and potable water supply in terms of its global contribution as unfrozen freshwater reserve. The developed and emerging countries in arid and semi-arid climatic regimes rely heavily on ground water to meet crop water requirements (irrigation) as well as for drinking water supplies due to its desirable high quality. In addition to this, arid and semi-arid zones are prone to very significant long-term groundwater level declines as a characteristic of its prominent aquifers. Ground water is considered as a promising resource for current and future global water needs; taking into consideration its flexibility to seasonal fluctuations and contamination, vast geographical distribution and better quality compared to surface water. Ground water is affordable considering its lesser susceptibility to seasonal and perennial fluctuations, and uniform spreading over large areas than surface water. Countries like Denmark, Malta, Saudi Arabia, etc., depend on ground water as the only water supply source (Zektser and Everett, 2004). Considering various perspectives of its practical use for different purposes, Ground water is often regarded as an important mineral resource and a component of the total water resources. Precipitation being the principal source for ground water; the responsibility to preserve this resource from pollution is increasing owing to the erratic nature of precipitation and near utilization of surface water resources (CGWB, 2015). Even though Climate change affects groundwater, buffering capacity makes it more resilient to the effects of climate change than surface water. Thus, the role of groundwater in water supplies likely becomes more dominant in arid regions with large scale climatic variations (Jac, 2012).

Full Product Details

9789007806013

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

Tab Content 6

Countries Available