1. The inventory of Finnish groundwater resources
Juhani Gustafsson
Finnish Environment Institute SYKE

2. Quaternary Deposits of Finland
The most common surficial deposit is glacial till.
Approximately 50 % of Finland’s surface area is covered by till or moraine formations.
Peat deposits cover 15 % of surface area.
13 % of surface area is rocky terrain,or the deposit cover is less than one meter thick.
Glaciofluvial eskers and ice-marginal formations cover 5 % of the area -> potential aquifers

3. The mapping and classification of Finnish aquifers
The project was carried out during by the regional environment centres and coordinated by the National Board of Water and Environment (Finnish Environment Institute, SYKE)
The aim of the project was to increase information on the
location of aquifers, hydrogeology of these areas, suitability for water supply, quality of groundwater, possible risk activities and contaminated sites (industry, roads, depositories, farming, gravel extraction sites etc.)
The inventory was based on
earlier studies, maps of subsoil and field work focused on checking the estimated borderlines and the material of the formations
The data collected throughout the project is stored in a database

4. The boundaries of the groundwater area
In general the determination of the outer boundaries of groundwater area were based on the subsoil and the conceptual types of formations.
The boundary of the groundwater area
the boundary extends to the low permeable surficial material
easy to recognize in field and in maps
The boundary of the recharge area
the permeability of subsoil is equal to fine sand or higher
Groundwater areas were delineated based on the groundwater flow directions.
In a esker chain the boundary between two groundwater areas were placed in a watershed area.

5. The principle to define the groundwater area

6. Map of ground water area Boundary of the groundwater area
Boundary of the recharge area
Identification code
Boundary between two groundwater areas (watershed, bedrock)
Class of the groundwater area
Water intake plant
Class of the groundwater area
Risk activities, contaminated sites
Monitoring tubes, wells
Flow directions

7. The classification of groundwater areas
The classification is based on the suitability for water supply and vulnerability of the area
Groundwater area important for water supply – class I
water extracted from the area is used by a water works which supplies at least for 10 or more households (approximately 50 persons)
Groundwater area suitable for water supply – class II
area is suitable for water supply, but for the time being, is needed neither for the municipal water supply nor for households in the sparsely populated areas
Other groundwater area – class III
further studies are needed to find out the suitability of the area for water supply

9. Some statistic of groundwater areas
The total number of groundwater areas is 6900, of which areas important for water supply 2258, areas suitable for water supply 1454 and number of other groundwater areas is 3188.
It has been estimated that the groundwater recharge in the classified groundwater areas amounts to altogether about 5.8 million cubic metres a day.
Some 2.77 million cubic metres is recharged in the important groundwater areas, Class I.
In 2001, about 61 percent (239 million cubic metres a year) of the water distributed by the waterworks was groundwater and artificial groundwater

10. The protection plan
Groundwater issues are mainly regulated through the Water Act and the Environmental Protection Act.
the strict prohibition on groundwater pollution
the prohibition on altering the groundwater level
In addition the protection plan procedure was introduced in the 1990´s to clarify the application of legislation and to specify the groundwater protection measures.
It is voluntary agreement of all the interest groups to reduce the risk to groundwater caused by the human activities on the groundwater area
The main topics of a protection plan
detailed hydrogeological mapping
mapping and evaluation of risk activities
monitoring obligations
programme of protection measures and responsibilities
follow-up plan and follow-up group

11. Conclusions
Data collected as the result of the mapping and classification project corresponds well the requirements of the initial characterization
The protection plan procedure is highly comparable with the further characterization and review of the impact of human activity on ground waters stated in the WFD