Groundwater-Related Risk Assessment - Dealing with Contaminated Sites: From Theory Towards Practical Application - page 761

to groundwater extraction and replenishment, and was believed to be guaranteed
through supplementation by infiltrating rain water to counterbalance groundwater
extraction. During the last few decades, however, many of these groundwater reser-
voirs have been threatened by groundwater contamination, which has provided a
new dimension to sustainable water supply. To ensure the drinking water needs
for future generations, it is necessary to prevent contaminants from the upper soil
layers from leaching into the groundwater and, hence, transporting vertically into
aquifers and, indirectly, into surface water reservoirs. These processes might take
decades, and sometimes centuries. To ensure drinking water supply at locations
other than at contaminated sites, lateral transport of contaminants with and within
the groundwater must be controlled.
Vrba and Lipponen (2007) derive ten groundwater indicators for assessing the
sustainability of specific groundwater bodies, including an indicator for soil quality,
based on the area percentage of an aquifer in which the concentration of the indi-
cator parameter exceeds the maximum level specified in the WHO drinking water
guidelines (or equivalent).
17.2.5 Appreciation
17.2.5.1 General Public
Water is generally recognized by the general public as a precious material, although
compared to other precious materials (e.g., gold, diamonds, or oil) water is ubiqui-
tous and available in large amounts. Some extreme statements about the meaning
of water have been heard such as 'water promises to be to the 21st century what oil
was to the 20th: the precious commodity that determines the wealth of nations' or
'water scarcity is now the single biggest threat to global food security' (Optimum
Population Trust 2009 ).
Since early mankind, an essential criterion for pioneers to create settlements
was the availability of reliable water resources. Water, in its meaning as the liq-
uid product that we drink, generates an extremely positive sentiment in humans.
Many pictures in magazines and on websites, for example in advertisement of min-
eral water, or with regard to sports or health programs, show young healthy looking
people in association with drinking water (see Fig. 17.4 for an example). It is com-
monly associated with life, life in the widest sense of the word: the life of plants
and organisms and, last but not least, human life. More than half the human body is
made up of water, while blood contains as much as 95% water. Quite simply, almost
every living organism needs water to survive. Humans do not have to be experts,
that is, (geo)hydrologists, to understand the absolute importance of water.
From the perspective of the wider meaning of water, there is also another aspect
to the appreciation of water. This type of appreciation strongly depends on the cli-
mate. In countries with a wet climate people may complain about the many rainy
days, while in countries with a dry climate rainy days may be celebrated. Water,
as in huge volumes like lakes, rivers and oceans, is also feared for its destructive