Discussion Document for Scoping Phase Ecological and Environmental Impacts of Large-scale Groundwater Development in the Table Mountain Group (TMG) Aquifer System Discussion Document for Scoping Phase
Table of Contents 1 Purpose of this document 2 An introduction to groundwater 3 Groundwater interactions in the environment 4 Assessing Groundwater Dependence 5 References 6 Glossary of hydrogeological terms 1 Purpose of this Document 1.1 The project 1.1.1 The deliverables 1.2 The team 1.3 The plan 1.4 A one-day Workshop 2 An introduction to groundwater 2.1 What is groundwater 2.2 Types of aquifers 3.1 Table Mountain Group: Geological pattern and process 3.2 Structure and Functioning of the Deep fractured-rock Table Mountain Group aquifer 2.3 Chemistry 2.4 Why the confined TMG aquifer is being explored for bulk water supply. 2.5 Types of TMG aquifer settings 3 Groundwater interactions in the environment 3.1 Interactions with non-marine aquatic ecosystems 3.1.1 Surface water bodies 3.1.2 Subsurface water bodies 3.2 Interactions with terrestrial ecosystems 3.3 Interactions with marine ecosystems 4 Assessing Groundwater Dependence 4.1 The nature of groundwater dependency 5 References 6 Glossary of hydrogeological terms
Primary Aquifers: Spaces formed at the same time as the geological formation, for instance intergranular porosity in sand (e.g., alluvial deposits . Secondary Aquifers: Spaces formed after the geological formation, such as fractures in hard rock.
TMG Aquifers
TMG Settings
Groundwater interactions in the environment Interactions with non-marine aquatic ecosystems Surface water bodies Subsurface water bodies Interactions with terrestrial ecosystems Interactions with marine ecosystems
Groundwater dependence A groundwater dependent ecosystem, or component of an ecosystem, can be defined as: ‘An ecosystem, or component of an ecosystem, that would be significantly altered by a change in the volume and/or temporal distribution of its groundwater supply’. Furthermore groundwater use = groundwater dependence; groundwater use = use of TMG groundwater; abstraction of TMG water = reduce supply to a GWDE.