PICOs

Urban aquifers are considered to play a vital role in ensuring sustainable development of cities. As they provide fresh water and renewable energy sources urban aquifers are key factors in the management of urban areas. However, growing population of cities worldwide and human activities are intensifying the pressure over urban groundwater. Actually, a wide variety of human/urban related activities may impact urban groundwater flow, quality and temperature, among others:

• The use of shallow aquifers for geothermal energy (hydrochemical impacts)
• The interaction with underground constructions (quantity and quality related impacts)
• The leakage from sewers and the discharge of wastewaters (introduction in the urban water bodies of different kinds of pollutants and micropollutants)
• The increase of urbanized areas and sealed surfaces (modification of the groundwater recharge)
• The pumping of groundwater (affection to the groundwater quantity and quality, especially in coastal aquifers).

In this context, it is essential to identify and quantify all aspects that may influence the quantity and quality of urban groundwater and investigate methods for minimizing their impacts (e.g., artificial groundwater recharge, improvement of the “natural” recharge in urban areas, reuse of pumped groundwater with dewatering purposes, redesign of geothermal systems, etc). Similarly, it is important to investigate management strategies for use of urban water resources in a sustainable manner.
This session welcomes works focused on quantity and quality aspects of urban waters and in general, all studies concerning any aspect related with urban groundwater resources.