Effects of Saltwater Intrusion
A case study comparing the Lower Burdekin Delta, Autralia
and the southern coast of New Jersey.
12/1/2010
MaryKate Kroliczak
Anthony Zappia
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Introduction
The over consumption of water has become an important global issue for the 21st century. Today
six billion people consume 30% of the world's total renewable fresh water supply and statistics project
that by 2025 this current rate will more than double(Levin 2002). The majority of usage can be placed on
the shoulders of the agricultural community and the unsustainable practices used but rather then waste
energy pointing fingers, this energy should be rendered to promote the conservation of our remaining
fresh water supplies. Across every continent on the planet are naturally occurring freshwater aquifers,
these aquifers act as massive underground tanks holding the resource until needed, which at any point in
time can be pumped out on demand. The United States alone has over 308 million 'in demand’ people
relying on these resources every day. Out
of this 308 million, over 53 percent of the
population lives in coastal areas exceeding
the carrying capacity for these
environments (Small 2004)
With the majority of the
population living along and or near these
coastal areas the water demand is much
higher, which in turn brings about a larger
output of the resource. The over pumping
Figure 1: Basic well intrusion of coastal freshwater aquifers has been
discovered to be directly associated with
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the occurrence of Salt water intrusion.
images/Deep-Recharge-Well. SWI (or saltwater intrusion) is an
environmental issue not only affecting the
United States coastline but every
populated coastline on the planet. The majority of SWI occurrence happens because of the over pumping
of aquifers due to industry and population growth, but a small percentage can be attributed to naturally
occurring events. Events like hurricanes, tsunamis, tropical storms anything that will cause a strong storm
surge over the coastal zone will allow salt water to infiltrate these freshwater aquifers. By definition
saltwater intrusion is the movement of saline (salt) water into a freshwater aquifer. SWI can happen by
way of two mechanisms. One: mentioned above events like hurricanes can bring storm surge up over the
coastal line allowing the saltwater to permeate through naturally or surge over recharge wells (see figure
1). Two: The process of vertical up-coning is when ground water begins to up-swell eventually tapping
into the saltwater column (see figure 2). Typically fresh and saltwater are stored in water columns that
are usually connected at the bottom of the column. When the
freshwater is pumped out constantly, there is not enough time
to recharge, it allows the saltwater to move in and deplete the
natural holding capacity of the aquifer. Saltwater has about 35
grams of salt for every liter on average making it much denser.
Also known as The Ghyben-Herzberg Relation this dense
saltwater brings more hydraulic pressure into the column to
overcome that of the fresh waters (Seefigure3).
Figure 2: Vertical up-conning of a coastal
aquifer due to over pumping.
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3a.
3b.
Figure 3. 3a. Healthy aquifer operation. 3b. Full on Saltwater Intrusion
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Effects and remediation
Once an aquifer has 'failed' so will the environment supported by it. Not only having negative
impacts on the environment, the economic loss is steep as well. Clean drinking water would now have to
be pumped in from a new source, prices of local water usage would be directly affected and quantities
limited. Habitat, natural and agricultural areas would be damaged due to increased salinity in the soils.
With the loss of habitat comes
species endangerment and
extinction, slowly allowing more
salt tolerant 'invasive' species to take
over the area. Agriculturally all local
production would come to a halt.
The massive amounts of water
needed to support irrigation systems
would cost too much to run, along
with the germination of seedlings
slowed and or stopped due to the
salinity count. Basically the area
directly connected with an aquifer
will lose bio-productivity and
economic potential. Below is one of
our test case studies looked at
because of an occurrence of SWI.
The remediation of this problem is a
reality but only a partial one. If an
aquifer has salt in its water supply a
desalinization plant can be
constructed and used so rid salts and
minerals from the water. The pros
allow an area to once again have a
freshwater supply to provide with.
Figure 4 . Location of the Kirkwood-Cohansey & Atlantic City Unfortunately large-scale
desalination typically uses large
amounts of energy as well as
specialized, expensive infrastructure, making this fix an expensive investment. Looking past the cons,
below we view our first case study in which an area depletes it freshwater source and implements a
desalinization process.
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Case Study 1: Kirkwood Cohansey
Southern New Jersey obtains their freshwater
from the Kirkwood Cohansey aquifer located
underneath the Pine Barrens national reserve. In fact
this land reserve acts as the main recharge area for
this particular aquifer. In recent years major concerns
about the long term sustainability of these aquifers
and their
projected future withdrawals is at question and within
the last decade severe issues have arisen with stream
flow depletion as well as ecological effects on stream
habitat areas. In 2004 a large number of requests
Figure 5. Distribution and rate of pumpage on presented themselves for increased withdrawals.
the Kirkwood-Cohansey. These requests prompted a study conducted by the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
as well as the United States Geological Survey to
evaluate incremental increases proposed for both
aquifers (Pope, 2006).
Introduction:
In the 1940’s the dredging of the Cape May Canal lowered the water table significantly as well as
increased the potential for saltwater intrusion. Since the 1960’s saltwater intrusion has forced the
abandonment of at least ten public wells, three industrial wells, and over a hundred domestic supply well
in Cape May County, NJ. Groundwater contamination by marine water is caused by poor land use
practices and human activities. In Cape May County there are several aquifers in which residents receive
groundwater from; these aquifers are fed by the two largest aquifers the Kirkwood-Cohansey and the 800
ft Sand. In recent years a cone of depression developed in 4 of the 5 aquifers increasing in depth and
width each year. In addition to the lowering of the water table the chloride concentrations from saltwater
intrusion is increasing in well location across the county. The line of sodium which essential separates
areas of freshwater from areas of brackish waters has moved inland and with nearly all confined aquifers
in this location decreasing to below sea level the state government drilled new supply wells to provide
freshwater for now. As you can see in figure 6 the highest rates for groundwater pumpage are not located
in either Atlantic or Cape May Counties. The county with the highest rates for pumpage is Cumberland
County, which was not included into this study. However, the western part of Atlantic County has
significant amount of pumpage rates as well as Atlantic City.
Methods:
In the 2006 study scientists and geologists evaluated effects of seven proposed increases in which
groundwater withdrawal would be shifted from its current extraction of the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer
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to the confined 800ft sand in order to investigate how these increases would affect the surficial aquifer.
The proposed increases in withdrawal were simulated by using three previously published models; the
New Jersey Coastal Plain Regional Aquifer System Analysis, Coastal Optimization, and the Atlantic City
800 ft sand models. These models were all used to simulate changes in water levels and the effect
saltwater intrusion has as a result of increased withdrawals from existing or proposed wells. The final
report described how these models were used to simulate water levels, drawdowns, flow budgets, and
travel time of saltwater area to wells. The studied area includes Atlantic and Cape May Counties with
areas of Ocean and Burlington that are the end borders for both aquifers.
Results:
The simulated drawdowns
from full allocation levels were
greatest in Atlantic County and
Southern Cape May County. The
increases to full allocation resulted in a
decrease in water levels at the pre-
existing cone of depression near the
center of Atlantic City from 120ft to
140ft of the National Geodetic Vertical
Datum of 1929. In addition to the
increase in depth of the water table on
that site, increased withdrawals from
previous data recorded in 1998
compared to the simulation in this
study revealed that groundwater levels
declined by 15-30ft on the Barrier
Islands and an additional 15-25 ft
Figure 6. Cross section showing flow budget area for Atlantic onshore. There was even a 35ft decline
City 800 ft sand. in localized areas in Southern Ocean
County. As you can see in Figure 7 the
location of the well in relation to where the Atlantic Ocean is allows for saltwater to easily intrude into
the freshwater aquifer intruding into the budgeted area for this study. The biggest threat to residents in
Cape May County is saltwater intrusion from the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean (Pope,2006).
For our Second case study we choose a SWI occurrence located in Australia. In both studies the same
issue has occurred due to over pumping but different approaches to remediation have been sought out.
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Case Study 2: The Lower Burdekin
Delta
The overexploitation of
groundwater has become a common issue
amongst coastal regions. Extensive
saltwater intrusion into aquifers results in
the deterioration of the quality of
groundwater resources. The second case
study we will be discussing will be on the
effects of groundwater pumping and
saltwater intrusion in the
Lower Burdekin Delta, North Queensland,
Figure 7. Location of watershed within the lower Burdekin Australia. The Burdekin Delta is located
Delta in the dry tropics and contains extensive
groundwater resources predominantly
used for the irrigation of sugarcane.
As one of the oldest irrigated areas in Australia, this delta has undergone extensive groundwater
extraction as well as modification by dams and barrages (Narayan et al. 2003).
Introduction:
The rich soils of the Burdekin River Delta
attracted sugarcane plantations in the 19th
century and with the expansion of sugarcane in
the mid 20th century the use of groundwater
irrigation began. The delta is unique in that it
overlies a shallow groundwater system that
consists of sand, clay, and granites, the well
developed alluvial tracts and deltas allows the
recharge to the groundwater by infiltration of
rainfall, river recharge, flooding, and irrigation
return flow. There are more than 35,000
hectares of irrigated sugarcane and other crops
Figure 8. Location of Burdekin Delta in North
Queensland
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within close proximity to environmentally sensitive wetlands, waterways, and estuaries, which discharge
into the Great Barrier Reef. The management of limited groundwater resources is a crucial mission, which
requires attention to minimize the movement of saltwater intrusion into the aquifers (Narayan et al. 2003).
Methods/Results:
When excess pumping of groundwater persists saltwater
intrusion is inevitable especially in coastal areas.
Currently there are more than 1800 groundwater pumps
used for irrigation along the Burdekin Delta and with an
average rainfall of 1000mm, intrusion has become a
major concern for farmers amongst this agricultural
region. In order to assess the issues an evaluation of the
size and extent of intrusion must be conducted. Several
factors that contribute to the magnitude of this topic will
depend on climatic conditions, characteristics of
groundwater flow, usage, porosity, distance from the
coastline; recharge rate, and depth of the aquifer. Within
the groundwater the delta is constrained by
Figure 9. Pumping rate vs. saltwater unconsolidated sediments deposited by the Burdekin
intrusion after 10 years (R=1250mm/yr) River. In previous studies the lack of 3D understanding
of aquifers and aquitards and their dynamics limited the
possibility of sustainable planning (Clarke et al. 2004).
New insights to the underlying geometry of the aquifer have come from studies using geophysical and
gamma logs in conjunction with analysis of 73 borehole materials. One model particularly used in this
study was Digital Elevation Model which uses high resolution photos to reveal detail in the landscape not
available to previous researchers. DEM provides good examples for accurate modeling and management.
The distribution of the geologic evidence helps establish scales as well as the connectivity of aquifers.
The Burdekin Delta is classified as a wave-tide delta and in recognition of how unique its parameters are
this delta has the ability to be a good example for modeling groundwater flow, artificial recharge
calculation and the management of saltwater intrusion. In order to properly manage this aquifer recharge
pits have been implemented to assist with artificial replenishment of the groundwater. In order to
predict the rate in which intrusion occurs two separate spatial equations describing the
conservation of mass of fluid and the conservation of mass of salt in a porous medium. Mathematical
modeling of groundwater flow is a crucial part of planning a hydro geological response to gains and
losses from natural and artificial recharge (Clarke et al. 2004). The main goal for the Lower Burdekin
Delta case study was to find solutions to keep the saltwater wedge from moving inland without displacing
freshwater. As seen in Figure 3 the increase of groundwater pump age increases the length of the
saltwater intrusion further inland. Each line represents an incremental measurement used in this study.
The final results as shown in Figure 4 that lower pumping and higher recharge reduce saltwater intrusion
and that the length is proportional to recharge rates.
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Solutions:
The Burdekin Delta is a RAMSAR listed wetland protected by the Convention on Wetlands of
International Importance. The current irrigation practices have allowed the water quality to degrade and
current data shows that saltwater intrusion extends inland and irrigation wells are experiencing salinity
increases. In order to protect their water source as well as wetland ecosystems several interest groups
have gotten involved and the government has passed legislation in order to protect the Burdekin Delta.
The Queensland Water Act (2000) enables water to be allocated into catchments and requires water
management plans to be performed. Water resource plans are also developed which allows for metering
water used for irrigation on farmland. The Burdekin Dry Tropics Board which is a community based
program established by the government for the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality
allows the community to deliver solutions to natural resource management issues. This ensures the best
environmental, social, cultural, and economic outcome for the region. The Australian federal government
implemented the Sugar Reform Package, which includes the Queensland Government Sugar Industry
Reform Program. This program is designed to provide various measures to address the needs for the
agricultural industry to restructure to improve its long-term sustainability. This includes income support
to farmers as well as interest rate subsidies to help aid in the transition to a sustainable irrigation system.
This program also provides exist
assistance to farmers whose land
is too degraded (Queensland
Government Environmental and
Resource Management).
Conclusions:
Above two case
studies concerning saltwater
Figure 10. Effect of recharge on saltwater intrusion after 10 years intrusion have been explained and
(Qp=10L/s) looked at closely in order to
compare and contrast which
remediation technique was best.
The desalinization plant for case study one and Injection wells (or recharge pits) for case study two both
achieved the same goal, a secure source of freshwater. When comparing the two we can see that the
process of injection wells is a technique used to save a failing aquifer, where the desalinization plant was
implemented because failure has already occurred. In our professional opinion the method of injection
wells is the better option, but to even reach that point, more energy must be put into the education,
monitoring, and sustainable consumption of the current freshwater supplies. If all else fails then the
desalinization plant will have to do.
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Works Cited
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Geological Survey. Department of Environmental Planning, 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2010.
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On.” International Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2010. <[Link]
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AQUIFER SYSTEMS TO IMPROVE INTEGRATED.” Queensland Division of Geologic
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Delta, North Queensland.” CSIRO . CSIRO Land and Water, Davies Laboratory, 2001. Web. 3
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