Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution / Геохимия, грунтовые воды и загрязнение

Groundwater geochemistry is the science that explores the processes controlling the chemical composition of groundwater, the groundwater quality. The groundwater quality influences the use of this resource. Groundwater may contain hazardous substances that affect health when consumed or which deteriorate the environment when the water is thoughtlessly spilled at the surface. The groundwater quality may change during the exploitation or it may be affected by human activities of which the impact is not always immediately evident.

The interest of society in groundwater geochemistry is mainly to ensure good quality drinking water. Although drinking water can be manufactured, for example by desalinization, this still is a costly affair, and to surrender to this option is in conflict with our desire to utilize groundwater as a sustainable resource, refreshingly and cleanly flowing from a well. Preservation of good ground-water therefore has a high priority for environmental authorities.

This chapter introduces basic subjects such as the concentration units, water sampling techniques, and how to examine the accuracy of a chemical analysis. We begin with the concentration limits for drinking water. <...>