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Tisherman, R. A., Rossi, R. J., Shonkoff, S. B. C., & DiGiulio, D. C. (2023). Groundwater uranium contamination from produced water disposal to unlined ponds in the San Joaquin Valley. Science of The Total Environment, 904, 166937.
Abstract: In the southern San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, an agriculturally productive region that relies on groundwater for irrigation and domestic water supply, the infiltration of produced water from oil reservoirs is known to impact groundwater due to percolation from unlined disposal ponds. However, previously documented impacts almost exclusively focus on salinity, while contaminant loadings commonly associated with produced water (e.g., radionuclides) are poorly constrained. For example, the infiltration of bicarbonate-rich produced waters can react with sediment-bound uranium (U), leading to U mobilization and subsequent transport to nearby groundwater. Specifically, produced water infiltration poses a particular concern for SJV groundwater, as valley-fill sediments are well documented to be enriched in geogenic, reduced U. Here, we analyzed monitoring well data from two SJV produced water pond facilities to characterize U mobilization and subsequent groundwater contamination. Groundwater wells installed within 2 km of the facilities contained produced water and elevated levels of uranium. There are \textgreater400 produced water disposal pond facilities in the southern SJV. If our observations occur at even a fraction of these facilities, there is the potential for widespread U contamination in the groundwaters of one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world.
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Timsina, J., & Weerahewa, J. (2023). Restoring ancient irrigation systems for sustainable agro-ecosystems development: Reflections on the special issue. Agricultural Systems, 209, 103668.
Abstract: Humans have relied on agriculture to feed their communities for thousands of years. Irrigation is practiced in many different forms over the years in countries all over the world. Although modern irrigation systems have been developed, and are in use in many countries, ancient irrigation systems (AISs) have also played a major role in sustaining food production, especially in smallholder farming in least developed and developing countries. The editorial team of Agricultural Systems put out a call for a special issue on restoring AISs for sustainable agro-ecosystems development to capture ancient marvels of traditional irrigation technology across the world. The objectives of this special issue were to: (i) understand and analyse the hydrological and socio-economic networks anchored by AISs; (ii) explain the nature and sustainability of management of these systems in relation to local agro-ecosystems; (iii) analyse the implications of the AISs for land, soil and water quality, and agro-ecosystem services; (iv) qualitative and quantitative analysis of AISs, including bio-physical and bio-economic modelling of these systems; and (v) assess the feasibility of alternative technological, institutional and management strategies to enhance the productivity, profitability, and environmental sustainability of the systems. The overall goal of the special issue was to develop a useful repository for this information as well as to use the journal’s international reach to share this information with the agricultural systems research community and journal readership. This paper provides reflections of papers published in the special issue. The special issue resulted in twelve high quality original research articles and one review article from Asia, Africa and Europe. The findings from various papers revealed that the AISs have been degraded due to human interventions or the anthropogenic activities across the world. Various papers emphasized that as a corrective measure, there is a need for developing and implementing rehabilitation projects in these systems. Authors identified that appropriate policy interventions by the relevant authorities would be a major step towards such rehabilitation process. However, resetting the ecosystem structure of the AISs strictly towards their historical manifestation is neither required nor feasible in the present context as it would contradict the expectations of stakeholders from these systems. The knowledge generated through the special issue provides evidence-based information on various aspects of AISs. It helps aware governments, private sectors and development agencies for improved policy planning and decision making and for prioritizing the restoration, rehabilitation, and management of various AISs around the world.
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Tariq, A., Beni, L. H., Ali, S., Adnan, S., & Hatamleh, W. A. (2023). An effective geospatial-based flash flood susceptibility assessment with hydrogeomorphic responses on groundwater recharge. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 23, 100998.
Abstract: Floods are one of the most common natural disasters, resulting in the extensive destruction of infrastructure, property, and human life. The destructive potential of a flood depends on numerous factors, including the size of the flood, the rate of flooding, the time it takes for the water to move through a given area, the river’s planform and cross-section geometry, and other similar factors. The present study is a unique analysis of flood mapping that was accomplished with the help of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Frequency Ratio (FR), and hydrogeomorphic response to floods by integrating geospatial analysis and unit stream power modeling. The Indus catchment region of Pakistan is where the subject topic is put into practice. According to the hydrologic analysis of the yearly peak discharge, the hydro-station in Gilgit-Baltistan can move boulders measuring up to 0.5 m in height during significant flooding. On the other hand, there will be no change to the geometry of the cross-section throughout 1980–2020 in Gilgit-Baltistan. The flood susceptibility map is constructed using data from twelve influencing parameters, including elevation, proximity to the drainage network, slope, drainage density, geomorphology, rainfall, the curvature of the topography, flow accumulation, geology, land use, Topographic Wetness Index (TWI), and Stream Power Index (SPI). The area under the curve (AUC) approach, which demonstrates a substantial degree of accuracy (85% and 83%), is utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of the AHP and FR. The current study fills the gaps between the geospatial approach and the hydrogeomorphic assessment of flood to determine flood susceptibility.
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Tanwer, N., Arora, V., Kant, K., Singh, B., Laura, J. S., & Khosla, B. (2024). Chapter 17 – Prevalence of Uranium in groundwater of rural and urban regions of India. In S. Madhav, A. L. Srivastav, S. C. Izah, & E. van Hullebusch (Eds.), Water Resources Management for Rural Development (pp. 213–234). Elsevier.
Abstract: Abnormally high uranium (U) prevalence in groundwater is a neoteric subject of concern throughout the world because of its direct impact on human health and well-being. Groundwater is used as the most preferred choice for drinking because of its good quality and ease of availability in rural and urban parts of India, and also in different parts of the world. India is an agriculture-dominant country and its 50–80% irrigational requirement is met by groundwater, besides this nearly 90% of rural and 50% of urban water needs are fulfilled by groundwater. The uranium concentration in groundwater in different parts of India namely Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, etc. found to be varying from 0 mg/L to 1443 mg/L, and in different parts of the world, it is found up to 1400 mg/L in the countries like United States, Canada, Finland, Mongolia, Nigeria, South Korea, Pakistan, Burundi, China, Afghanistan, etc. Various natural factors such as geology, hydro-geochemistry, and prevailing conditions as well as anthropogenic factors including mining, nuclear activities, erratic use of fertilizers, and overexploitation of groundwater resources are responsible for adding uranium in groundwater. Groundwater is considered a primary source of uranium ingestion in human beings as it contributes 85% while food contributes 15%. Uranium affects living beings as a two-way sword, being a radioactive element, causing radiotoxicity, and on the other hand as a heavy metal, it causes chemotoxicity. The main target organs affected by the consumption of uranium-contaminated water are kidneys, bones, lungs, etc. It can cause renal failure, impair cell functioning and bone growth, and mutation in DNA. Although, its toxic effects, being a heavy metal, are more severe than its radiotoxicity. Various techniques are available for the efficient removal of uranium from the groundwater such as bioremediation, nanotechnology-enhanced remediation, adsorption, filtration, etc. This chapter entails a comprehensive investigation of uranium contamination in groundwater of rural and urban parts of India their probable sources, health impacts, treatment, and mitigation techniques available to manage groundwater resources.
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Tan, K., Li, C., Liu, J., Qu, H., Xia, L., Hu, Y., et al. (2014). A novel method using a complex surfactant for in-situ leaching of low permeable sandstone uranium deposits. Hydrometallurgy, 150, 99–106.
Abstract: Applications of a complex surfactant developed in-house to in-situ leaching of low permeable sandstone uranium deposits are described based on results from agitation leaching, column leaching, resin adsorption, and elution experiments using uranium containing solution from the in-situ leaching site. The results of agitation leaching experiments show that adding surfactant with different concentrations into leaching solution improves the leaching rate of uranium. The maximum leaching rate of uranium from agitation leaching reached 92.6% at an added surfactant concentration of 10mg/l. Result of column leaching experiment shows that adding surfactant with varying concentrations into leaching solutions increased the permeability coefficient of ore-bearing layer by 42.7–86.8%. The leaching rate of uranium from column leaching increased by 58.0% and reached 85.8%. The result of kinetic analysis shows that for the extraction of uranium controlled by diffusion without surfactant the apparent rate constant 0.0023/d changed to 0.0077/d for the extraction with surfactant controlled by both diffusion and surface chemical reactions. Results from resin adsorption and elution experiments show that there was no influence on resin adsorption and elution of uranium with an addition of 50mg/l surfactant to production solution from in-situ leaching. The adsorption curve, sorption capacity of resin, recycling of resin remained the same as without adding any surfactant. Introducing complex surfactant to leaching solution increased the peak concentration of uranium in eluents, reduced the residual uranium content in resin, and promoted the elution efficiency. The method of using a complex surfactant for in-situ leaching is useful for low permeable sandstone uranium deposits.
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