15
Groundwater Management Strategies to Improve
Surface Water Quality in an Urbanised Area
J. FUrst and H. P. Nachtnebel
Department of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: fuerst@edv2.boku.ac.at, Tel: +43 1 36006 5511. Fax: +43 1 36006 5549
Abstract
This contribution describes the identification of strategies for integrated
groundwater and surface water management to improve the water quality in an
urban waterbody, which is intensively used for recreational purposes. After
significant changes ofthe hydrological regime due to various engineering projects,
the water quality in this urban, shallow, groundwater seepage lake, which
remained as an oxbow after regulation of the River Danube, deteriorated in 1992.
Restoration relies on intensive multidisciplinary analysis of the causes for
deterioration. Water- management strategies are developed on the basis of a
profound analysis of the previous and current hydrological regime, the reasons for
change and the impact on the water balance and subsurface nutrient input. A finite
element model of groundwater flow is applied as an important tool to analyze and
understand the previous and current flow regime, the input of nutrients, as well as
in the development and simulation of restoration scenarios.
1 Introduction
Easy access to water-based recreation contributes significantly to the quality of
life, specifically in urban areas. In Vienna and other major cities, e.g. Berlin, some
of the most attractive shallow lakes for recreational use are the remainders of
riparian landscapes of previously braided rivers. Due to a variety of pressures,
proper management to maintain or restore good water quality in these waterbodies
is a challenging task. The lirnnological literature documents several approaches to
the restoration of lake ecosystems (e.g. Eiseltova 1994; Jaeger and Koschel 1995;
Maitland and Morgan 1997). In almost all these cases, management activities are
applied directly to the lake ecosystem, i.e. biomanipulation of fauna and flora,
control and removal of nutrients in the lake. Although there is an awareness of the
H. Rubin / P. Nachtnebel / J. Fuerst / U. Shamir
Preserving the Quality of Our Water Resources
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002
Groundwater Management Strategies to Improve
Surface Water Quality in an Urbanised Area
J. FUrst and H. P. Nachtnebel
Department of Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Muthgasse 18, 1190 Vienna, Austria
E-mail: fuerst@edv2.boku.ac.at, Tel: +43 1 36006 5511. Fax: +43 1 36006 5549
Abstract
This contribution describes the identification of strategies for integrated
groundwater and surface water management to improve the water quality in an
urban waterbody, which is intensively used for recreational purposes. After
significant changes ofthe hydrological regime due to various engineering projects,
the water quality in this urban, shallow, groundwater seepage lake, which
remained as an oxbow after regulation of the River Danube, deteriorated in 1992.
Restoration relies on intensive multidisciplinary analysis of the causes for
deterioration. Water- management strategies are developed on the basis of a
profound analysis of the previous and current hydrological regime, the reasons for
change and the impact on the water balance and subsurface nutrient input. A finite
element model of groundwater flow is applied as an important tool to analyze and
understand the previous and current flow regime, the input of nutrients, as well as
in the development and simulation of restoration scenarios.
1 Introduction
Easy access to water-based recreation contributes significantly to the quality of
life, specifically in urban areas. In Vienna and other major cities, e.g. Berlin, some
of the most attractive shallow lakes for recreational use are the remainders of
riparian landscapes of previously braided rivers. Due to a variety of pressures,
proper management to maintain or restore good water quality in these waterbodies
is a challenging task. The lirnnological literature documents several approaches to
the restoration of lake ecosystems (e.g. Eiseltova 1994; Jaeger and Koschel 1995;
Maitland and Morgan 1997). In almost all these cases, management activities are
applied directly to the lake ecosystem, i.e. biomanipulation of fauna and flora,
control and removal of nutrients in the lake. Although there is an awareness of the
H. Rubin / P. Nachtnebel / J. Fuerst / U. Shamir
Preserving the Quality of Our Water Resources
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2002