VTEI / hydrogeology

hydrogeology

Interview with doc. RNDr. Zbyněk Hrkal, CSc., hydrogeologist, writer, and populariser of water management

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The October issue of the VTEI journal deals mainly with groundwater and its management. We therefore discussed the promotion of this topic with a colleague who is engaged in research in groundwater, has been lecturing on hydrogeology
for a long time at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, and deals with the topic of water management in his publications. “The main problem in the world is not a physical lack of water, but poverty, illiteracy, and economic backwardness,” says Zbyněk Hrkal.

Protected areas for surface water accumulation from a hydrogeologist’s the point of view – the effect of possible realization of surface water accumulation on hydrogeological conditions

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Suitable areas for the accumulation of surface water have been defined in the Czech Republic, potentially serving mainly for the supply of potable water and for mitigating the adverse effects of floods and drought. The sites are listed in the General Scheme on the Accumulation of Surface Water, which was obtained by the Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment following the previous long-term territorial protection of prospective water reservoirs. Before any decision to build these reservoirs, it is necessary to assess the project from various points of view. This article presents an evaluation of selected sites from a hydrogeological point of view. Among other things, it deals with the analysis of the location of potential res-ervoirs in the hydrogeological environment, the effect on the quantity and quality of groundwater, and the potential impact on the used groundwater resources. After the construction of the reservoirs, the groundwater level of the shallow aquifer will rise, and consequently, groundwater storage will also increase. However, it is necessary to assess the sites individually; there are often potentially negative effects of future reservoirs on groundwater.