Groundwater
About 60% of the drinking water in the European Union comes from groundwater. Where can we find groundwater, how much, how long and at what quality can we guarantee it for the future generations? What are the flow paths and how does our quest for good drinking water collide with the needs of flora and fauna? What threatens future water reserves and how can we protect them? Those are questions that are constantly on the minds of a geologist.
Protection and monitoring
Most groundwater is high quality drinking water that has been naturally filtered by the rock pores through which it passes. This flow of groundwater is relatively slow and the residence time in the subsurface can be as long as tens of thousands of years. Groundwater is vulnerable to long-lasting contamination by the industrial, agricultural or domestic wastes and leachates. This contamination is difficult and costly to remedy. Therefore, to protect groundwater and to guarantee its highest quality the European Geological Surveys are constantly monitoring and studying the groundwater flow, the quality and the contamination risks.
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