The impact of urban groundwater upon surface water - eTheses ...

CONCLUSIONS
CHAPTER 9. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER
9.1 Introduction
WORK
The purpose of the Birmingham Aquifer – River Tame case study was to investigate the
impact of contaminated land and groundwater on urban river systems. The research had the
following objectives.
1. To characterise and quantify the contribution of groundwater-derived contaminants to the
surface-water quality of an urban river at the subcatchment scale.
2. To investigate the physical and chemical processes controlling contaminant flux across the
groundwater/surface-water interface.
3. To investigate the processes controlling the temporal and spatial variations in groundwater
flow and contaminant flux to the river.
4. To develop suitable monitoring methods to quantify contaminant flux to the river.
These objectives were, for the most part, achieved successfully.
A large database was amassed concerning water quality and levels, obtained by sampling
surface waters, using shallow piezometers in the riverbed and across the aquifer,
supplemented by data from deeper abstraction and monitoring wells. Temperature probe
surveys and sediment coring of the riverbed were undertaken. Surface water flows were
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