Services for assessment, protection and use of groundwater resources

Groundwater sampling in Hungary. Photo: Juha Kaija, GTK

Water quality and fresh water availability to a large extent determine the quality of our lives. Indeed, access to good quality water has become a matter of national and global security.

Only 2.5% of all water on Earth is fresh water. Most of it exists as glaciers and permanent snowfields, leaving less than a third of all fresh water to support mankind. Less than 10% of available fresh water is in lakes, rivers and wetlands. The great bulk is in the form of groundwater, i.e. the water present below the water table in soils and geological formations. More than two-thirds of the total fresh water supply is used in agriculture.

Because groundwater is a finite resource, it is essential to protect groundwater resources against over-exploitation and damage to hydrological systems resulting from human activities. Groundwater may respond very slowly to remediation efforts, particularly where aquifer recharge and flow rates are low.

Before groundwater resources can be managed in an effective and sustainable way, resource managers need to make an inventory of the resources and their environmental role, and to establish how accessible they are. It is not enough simply to know what groundwater resources are available. A policy for sustainable water management must define the measures to be taken over time to conserve and protect both the quantity and quality of groundwater resources. Other problems in water supply development often relate to institutional, financial and human resource issues.

GTK provides assistance in:

Gathering technical data and advice on sustainable development of groundwater, land-use planning, conservation and management of the environment related to groundwater, infrastructure development, coastal zone management and prediction of geohazards related to groundwater.
Establishing a strategy for developing the knowledge infrastructure necessary for groundwater management
Training of staff involved in geological surveys and the institutions responsible for groundwater development, the environment and land use planning.
Groundwater investigation and 3D aquifer modeling
Water quality assessment

See also:   Survey on the Chemical Status of Groundwaters, Hungary