Abstract
Aquifers consisting of unconsolidated sediments in the coastal area near Zhanjiang in southern China are grouped into the shallow, middle-deep and deep aquifer systems. Groundwater exploitation began in the 1950s in this district and has increased from year to year since 1980. Measurements of groundwater levels and monitoring data of groundwater chemistry at some 60 wells since 1981 are examined to analyze the evolution of hydrodynamics and hydrochemistry in the coastal aquifers. The results indicate that groundwater levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems have fallen continuously and the extents of the depression cones in water levels have increased in the past two decades, even though the water levels recovered to some degree during the period of 1997–2001. In 2004, the lowest water levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems were 23.58 and 21.84 m below sea level, respectively. The groundwater has TDS ranging from 40 to 550 mg/L, and is of low pH, commonly varies between 4 and 7. Concentrations of total iron and manganese exceed the concentration limits of the drinking water standards. The hardness is in the range of 10–250 mg/L. Chloride contents of the groundwater range from 10 to 60 mg/L. The chloride and TDS do not show systematically increasing trends. Although the water levels in the exploitation center near the coast are significantly lower than the sea level and the depression cones of water levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems have expanded to the sea, sea water intrusion has not been observed until recently. This phenomenon is quite unique in the coastal area near Zhanjiang.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Key Project of the Ministry of Education of China (No. 105032). The authors would like to thank Mr. Liang Chisheng from the Guangdong Bureau of Geology and Exploration, and Mr. Kang Xinghong, from the First Party of Hydrogeology and Engineering Geology of Guangdong, for their help in the work.
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Xun, Z., Xia, Y., Juan, L. et al. Evolution of the groundwater environment under a long-term exploitation in the coastal area near Zhanjiang, China. Environ Geol 51, 847–856 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0364-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-006-0364-4