Geology of Urban Watersheds - Urban Watersheds: Geology, Contamination, and Sustainable Development - page 60

investigation is that many urban areas are located in geological settings dominated by
sedimentary deposits located near water. There exists a complex, dynamic, codependant,
and sometimes delicate relationship between the presence of water and geology. When
urban areas are placed into the mix, these complexities and delicate relationships may
be thrown out of balance. Although not always intentional, the resulting human impacts
may alter our lives or the environment negatively, and in some cases, catastrophically.
What determines our sustainability is only in small part determined by urban location;
most critical are the specific actions we undertake to understand and protect the urban
environment.
Finally, we have briefly introduced the most important factor determined by geology
at any location, and especially in urban areas: the presence and availability of water—the
most precious resource required for living organisms and their continued sustainability.
Nace (1969), a noted global hydrologist, once stated, “the story of the growth of civiliza-
tion and science could be written largely in terms of human concern with water.” The next
chapter explores water in the urban environment from a scientific perspective and encom-
passes a wide range of processes from its basic molecular structure and chemical behavior
to its actions on the surface and below the ground.
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