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Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition
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Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Water Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 6801

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Weifeng Yue

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Interests: groundwater
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jin Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: groundwater monitoring; groundwater quality assessment; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Water scarcity is a global problem. For arid or semi-arid regions, groundwater is the main or even the only source of water. The unreasonable utilization of groundwater may cause environmental problems such as land subsidence, environmental pollution, ecological degradation, and seawater intrusion, among others. Determining how to scientifically manage groundwater resources is key to address the problem. Although there have been many similar studies, research on the assessment, protection and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources still needs to be improved. On one hand, the amount of groundwater resources needs to be accurately assessed and reasonably allocated to prevent a series of environmental and geological environmental problems caused by excessive exploitation. On the other hand, groundwater quality should also be properly protected. Groundwater pollution should be prevented, and polluted groundwater should be assessed and treated in a timely manner.

In this Special Issue, we aim to publish papers addressing the above issues. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Groundwater overexploitation treatment or artificial recharge;
  • Surface–groundwater hydraulic linkage;
  • Groundwater circulation and renewal;
  • Groundwater dynamics or solute transport models;
  • Groundwater resources allocation and management model;
  • Seawater intrusion into aquifers;
  • Groundwater pollution assessment and health risk assessment;
  • Hydrogeochemical characteristics and genesis analysis of groundwater;
  • Groundwater pollution control and remediation;
  • Groundwater ecology and environmental resource carrying capacity.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Weifeng Yue
Dr. Jin Wu
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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • groundwater
  • artificial recharge
  • resources management
  • pollution control
  • hydrodynamics
  • numerical model

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 4073 KiB  
Article
Regulation of Thin-Layered g-C3N4 for Efficient Persulfate Photocatalysis of Ibuprofen Contaminated Groundwater
by Yunchuan Yang, Jie Li, Yong Li, Yanbin Huang, Zuyang Huang, Gangan Yan, Siran Liang, Yining Zhang, Ke Zeng, Junjie Qi, Shikang Xiong, Jun Liu and How Yong Ng
Sustainability 2025, 17(7), 2831; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17072831 - 22 Mar 2025
Viewed by 340
Abstract
The rapid and effective removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from groundwater is challenging. In this paper, porous cyano group-rich g-C3N4 catalysts were prepared by urea (U) and a KOH-assisted thermal polymerization strategy. The thickness, active sites, and [...] Read more.
The rapid and effective removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) from groundwater is challenging. In this paper, porous cyano group-rich g-C3N4 catalysts were prepared by urea (U) and a KOH-assisted thermal polymerization strategy. The thickness, active sites, and pores of g-C3N4 were successfully modulated by urea and KOH-assisted thermal polymerization. In addition, the charge separation efficiency of g-C3N4 was effectively improved by the above methods. We combine the g-C3N4 photocatalyst with peroxymonosulfate (PMS) to achieve the efficient degradation performance of ibuprofen. Meanwhile, we also explored the reaction mechanism of g-C3N4 in the photocatalytically coupled persulfate system, which illustrated the active roles of singlet oxygen and holes in the system in degrading pollutants. Our work demonstrates that the photocatalytically coupled persulfate system is an advanced technology necessary for the deep treatment of PPCPs in groundwater and suggests a feasible strategy for catalyst modulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition)
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24 pages, 16522 KiB  
Article
WQI Improvement Based on XG-BOOST Algorithm and Exploration of Optimal Indicator Set
by Jing Liu, Qi Chu, Wenchao Yuan, Dasheng Zhang and Weifeng Yue
Sustainability 2024, 16(24), 10991; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162410991 - 14 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 848
Abstract
This paper takes a portion of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang Province, China, as an example and proposes an improved traditional comprehensive water quality index (WQI) method using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XG-BOOST) to analyze the groundwater quality levels in the region. Additionally, [...] Read more.
This paper takes a portion of the Manas River Basin in Xinjiang Province, China, as an example and proposes an improved traditional comprehensive water quality index (WQI) method using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XG-BOOST) to analyze the groundwater quality levels in the region. Additionally, XG-BOOST is used to screen the existing dataset of ten water quality indicators, including fluoride (F), chlorine (Cl), nitrate (NO), sulfate (SO), silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn), from 246 monitoring points, in order to find the dataset that optimizes model training performance. The results show that, in the selected study area, water quality categorized as “GOOD” and “POOR” accounts for the majority, with “GOOD” covering 48.7% of the area and “POOR” covering 31.6%. Regions with water quality classified as “UNFIT” are mainly distributed in the central–eastern parts of the study area, located in parts of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture. Comparatively, water quality in the western part of the study area is better than that in the eastern part, while areas with “EXCELLENT” water quality are primarily distributed in the southern parts of the study area. The optimal water quality indicator dataset consists of five indicators: Cl, NO, Pb, Se, and Zn, achieving an accuracy of 98%, RMSE = 0.1414, and R2 = 0.9081. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition)
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23 pages, 11994 KiB  
Article
Integrated Simulation of Groundwater Flow and Nitrate Transport in an Alluvial Aquifer Using MODFLOW and MT3D: Insights into Pollution Dynamics and Management Strategies
by Abdessalam Laoufi, Abderezzak Boudjema, Sabrine Guettaia, Abdessamed Derdour and Abdulrazak H. Almaliki
Sustainability 2024, 16(23), 10777; https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310777 - 9 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1617
Abstract
This study employs an integrated numerical modeling approach using MODFLOW and MT3D to simulate groundwater flow and nitrate transport in the alluvial aquifer of Hennaya plain. The groundwater flow model was calibrated and validated against observed hydraulic heads, showing excellent agreement in both [...] Read more.
This study employs an integrated numerical modeling approach using MODFLOW and MT3D to simulate groundwater flow and nitrate transport in the alluvial aquifer of Hennaya plain. The groundwater flow model was calibrated and validated against observed hydraulic heads, showing excellent agreement in both steady-state and transient conditions, with a correlation coefficients (R2) of 0.99 and 0.987, respectively. Meticulous calibration yielded adjusted hydraulic conductivity values between 10−1 and 10−11 m/s, with effective porosity ranging from 0.03 to 0.34 and total porosity values varying from 0.29 to 0.38 across the aquifer. Water budget analysis revealed that the aquifer’s primary recharge occurs from the southern side. Nitrate transport modeling indicated that advection is the dominant process, with contaminants migration predominantly occurring from south to north, following the groundwater flow direction. Pollution levels were found to decrease gradually with distance from sources, confirming agricultural activities and sewage disposal as primary contributors to nitrate contamination. Predictive scenarios over a 40-year period explored various management strategies, which suggest that maintaining current nitrogen input rates will lead to continued increases in nitrate pollution, while a 50% reduction in agricultural inputs could significantly improve groundwater quality. However, even with substantial reductions, nitrate concentrations are not expected to reach levels safe for drinking within the simulation timeframe. This study underscores the need for immediate and sustained action to address nitrate pollution in the Hennaya Plain aquifer, emphasizing the importance of stringent nitrogen management practices, particularly in the agricultural sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition)
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18 pages, 9386 KiB  
Article
Calculation of Visual Background Values of Major Groundwater Components Taking Karamay City as an Example
by Feiran Zheng, Jingwen Ren, Jing Liu, Wenchao Yuan, Yanna Xiong and Zhijuan Li
Sustainability 2024, 16(12), 5224; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16125224 - 19 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1053
Abstract
Based on the groundwater chemistry data from Karamay City, Xinjiang Province, this study examines seven major components: K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, SO42−, Cl−, and HCO3−. The sampling [...] Read more.
Based on the groundwater chemistry data from Karamay City, Xinjiang Province, this study examines seven major components: K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, SO42−, Cl−, and HCO3−. The sampling was conducted during two periods: flood and dry periods. On the basis of analyzing the regional geologic background and hydrogeologic conditions, the study area was divided into calculation units and the test data validity was screened. Then, the outliers were eliminated by Grubbs’ method and Piper’s trilinear plot method, and the effectiveness of the elimination was evaluated by the box-and-line diagram. After that, the distribution types of the groundwater chemistry data in each calculation unit were judged to obtain the background values of the seven test indexes for the groundwater in different calculation units. The results show that Grubbs’ method and Piper’s trilinear plot method are effective in removing outliers. Secondly, the background values of Na+ and Cl− in the groundwater of Karamay City are mostly higher than those of other anions and cations during the two sampling periods. This phenomenon may be due to the concentration effect of evaporation. Additionally, the groundwater background values of Ca2+, Na+, and Cl− showed more significant differences between the two sampling periods compared to other ions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition)
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22 pages, 4991 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Groundwater Resources in the Qeft Area of Egypt: A Geophysical and Geochemical Perspective
by Alhussein Adham Basheer, Elsayed I. Selim, Alaa Ahmed and Adel Kotb
Sustainability 2024, 16(11), 4815; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16114815 - 5 Jun 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2072
Abstract
This study focuses on the critical issue of access to clean water in water-stressed regions like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). To address the challenges of water stress, the study proposes an integrated approach involving geographical, statistical, and geophysical analysis. The [...] Read more.
This study focuses on the critical issue of access to clean water in water-stressed regions like the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). To address the challenges of water stress, the study proposes an integrated approach involving geographical, statistical, and geophysical analysis. The objectives are to assess the distribution of pollutants such as heavy metals, salts, and water turbidity near industrial facilities; identify their sources and pathways; evaluate water quality and its impact on human health; and improve environmental classification using geophysical and geochemical methods. The study area, located southeast of Qena city, is characterized by an arid climate with minimal rainfall and is primarily covered by Upper Cretaceous and Lower Eocene rocks. The third layer in the study area is considered a shallow aquifer of Quaternary alluvial deposits; it deepens from 20 m to 93 m, displaying resistivity from 18 Ω∙m to 120 Ω∙m, with thickness increasing downstream to approximately 90 m. Understanding groundwater flow from northeast to southeast is crucial for understanding pollutant distribution in the region. The research reveals variations in groundwater quality, including high total dissolved solids (TDS) ranging from 240 to 531 mg/L and electrical conductivity (EC) values ranging from 376–802 μS/cm, as well as the presence of heavy metals. Some water samples exceeded the recommended limits for certain parameters set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Spatial distribution analysis showed higher mineralization toward the northeast of the study area. Overall, the integrated approach proposed in this study can contribute to effective water-management strategies to ensure sustainable water resources and protect public health in water-stressed regions like Egypt. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Assessment and Management of Groundwater Resources: 2nd Edition)
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