Abstract
Beneath Belfast and the Lagan Valley lies Northern Ireland's most important aquifer, the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone. Up to 300 m in
thickness and with a total abstraction of around 31 000 m(3)/d, it is a
modest aquifer by UK and world standards; nonetheless, it is an
important local water source. The use of this aquifer system as a water
supply will undoubtedly increase as growth of industry and population
continues in the Belfast metropolitan area. Even with the mesic climate
of Ireland, groundwater mining of this aquifer system is already
occurring, and thus there is a need for detailed aquifer planning and
protection to be implemented in order to preserve this resource for the
future.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 133-139 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management |
Volume | 11 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 1997 |
Keywords
- aquifer
- groundwater
- hydrogeology
- water quality
- water supply
- well head protection