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Environments
Special Issues
Groundwater Quality in the UK; a Continuing Challenge
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Groundwater Quality in the UK; a Continuing Challenge

A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 4845

Special Issue Editors

Marianne Stuart

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
Interests: anthropogenic groundwater quality; emerging organic contaminants, pesticides, nitrate, chlorinated solvents, pathogens; groundwater processes: e.g., denitrification, island hydrogeology, risk assessment
Dr. Bentje Brauns

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK
Interests: groundwater resources and quality; emerging pollutants; impact from agricultural activities; groundwater-surface water interactions; urban groundwater pollution; groundwater in developing countries
Natalie Kieboom

E-Mail Website
Assistant Guest Editor
Environment Agency, Bristol, UK
Interests: environmental impact assessment; environmental management; environment protection; vulnerability assessment; nutrient management; hydrogeochemistry; water resources management; climate change impact

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Groundwater provides a wide range of functions in the UK; it is a critical drinking water source and supports environmental flows in surface waters, particularly in the south. Groundwater quality can be impacted by anthropogenic pollution, e.g., from agriculture or waste disposal; from geogenic sources, e.g. from arsenic in the aquifer matrix; or from pollutant mobilisation, e.g., from anthropogenic activity, coastal intrusion or climate change. Some activities are predominantly historical but have left behind problems for the present day, while others may be ongoing or new. Pollutants take many forms: inorganic major and trace elements, organic compounds, emerging contaminants, microplastics and pathogens. Their behaviour in aquifers can be controlled by geological or geochemical factors and may be perturbed by anthropogenic activity or less directly by climate change.

This Special Issue aims to present both research and review papers.

Marianne Stuart
Dr. Bentje Brauns
Natalie Kieboom
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. Environments is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 1800 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

  • anthropogenic
  • agrochemicals
  • emerging contaminants
  • microplastics
  • geogenic
  • metals
  • arsenic
  • fluoride
  • radon
  • pathogens
  • processes
  • geology
  • geochemistry
  • climate change and extreme events
  • saline intrusion
  • trends

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 8506 KiB  
Article
Export Coefficient Modelling of Nutrient Neutrality to Protect Aquatic Habitats in the River Wensum Catchment, UK
by Kevin M. Hiscock, Richard J. Cooper, Andrew A. Lovett and Gilla Sünnenberg
Environments 2023, 10(10), 168; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10100168 - 27 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1423
Abstract
The pressure of nutrient pollution derived from wastewater treatment works and agricultural runoff is a reason for the decline in the ecological health of aquatic habitats. Projected residential development in catchments creates further nutrient loading that can be offset by nutrient management solutions [...] Read more.
The pressure of nutrient pollution derived from wastewater treatment works and agricultural runoff is a reason for the decline in the ecological health of aquatic habitats. Projected residential development in catchments creates further nutrient loading that can be offset by nutrient management solutions that maintain ‘nutrient neutrality’ either onsite or elsewhere within the same catchment. This study developed an export coefficient model in conjunction with detailed farm business data to explore a nature-based solution to nutrient neutrality involving seven scenarios of crop conversion to mixed woodland or grazing grass in an area of intensive arable cultivation in the groundwater-fed Blackwater sub-catchment of the River Wensum, UK. When compared with the monitored riverine export of nutrients, the calculated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs under current land use showed that subsurface denitrification is removing 48–78% of the leached N and that P is accumulating in the field soils. The addition of 235 residential homes planned for 2018–2038 in the Blackwater will generate an additional nutrient load of 190 kg N a−1 and 4.9 kg P a−1. In six of the seven scenarios, the modelled fractions of crop conversion (0.02–0.21) resulted in the required reduction in P loading and more than sufficient reduction in N loading (196–1874 kg a−1 for mixed woodland and 287–2103 kg a−1 for grazing grass), with the additional reduction in N load above the requirement for nutrient neutrality potentially contributing to further improvement in water quality. The cost of land conversion is modelled in terms of crop gross margins and nutrient credits generated in the form of 0.1 kg units of N or P. For the range of scenarios considered, the annual cost per credit ranged from GBP 0.78–11.50 for N for mixed woodland (GBP 0.74–7.85 for N for grazing grass) and from GBP 160–782 for P for both scenarios. It is concluded that crop conversion is a viable option to achieve nutrient neutrality in arable catchments in eastern England when considered together with other nutrient management solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality in the UK; a Continuing Challenge)
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22 pages, 2414 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Groundwater Nitrate Status across the River Ythan Catchment (Scotland) following Two Decades of Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Designation
by Hamish Johnson, Emma May Simpson, Mads Troldborg, Ulrich Ofterdinger, Rachel Cassidy, Chris Soulsby and Jean-Christophe Comte
Environments 2023, 10(4), 67; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10040067 - 18 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2618
Abstract
Diffuse agricultural pollution is one of the greatest challenges to achieving good chemical and ecological status of Scotland’s water bodies. The River Ythan in Aberdeenshire was designated a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) in the year 2000, due to the eutrophication of the Ythan [...] Read more.
Diffuse agricultural pollution is one of the greatest challenges to achieving good chemical and ecological status of Scotland’s water bodies. The River Ythan in Aberdeenshire was designated a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone (NVZ) in the year 2000, due to the eutrophication of the Ythan Estuary and rising nitrate trends in Private Water Supply (PWS) groundwater abstractions. The third River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) for Scotland reported the Ellon groundwater body of the River Ythan catchment to be of poor chemical status as of 2021 with respect to nitrate, and forecasted groundwater recovery beyond 2027. Following two decades of NVZ designation, we investigated the drivers of groundwater nitrate across the River Ythan catchment through an analysis of long-term (2009–2018) groundwater quality monitoring data collected by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) and a recent synoptic groundwater nitrate sampling survey of PWSs. Groundwater nitrate was found to remain elevated across the catchment area, and appeared to be highly sensitive to agricultural practices and meteorological forcing, indicating a high sensitivity of groundwater quality to environmental change. Further hydrogeological characterisation is recommended to better understand the effects of agricultural practices on groundwater quality, and to facilitate achievement of future RBMP goals under a changing climate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Groundwater Quality in the UK; a Continuing Challenge)
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