Annual Report 2007
Water resources

Procuring knowledge to permit optimal management of our water resources

National groundwater mapping
With the launch of the new municipal structural reform in 2007, the state-owned Environment Centers have taken over administration of national groundwater mapping, and work on action plans has been transferred to the municipalities. The work of the Environment Centers includes mapping areas with special drinking-water interests and catchment areas for waterworks outside areas with special drinking-water interests. GEUS manages the specialist coordination of groundwater mapping and assists the Agency for Spatial and Environmental Planning and the Environment Centers with coordination and advice, so that, as far as possible, national groundwater mapping is carried out more uniformly. In 2007 there were comprehensive activities on the structure and organisation of the work. An overall structure has been defined and experience groups for geophysics, geological and hydrological modelling, water quality and potential mapping have been set up. During the year GEUS has been busy setting up geological-hydrological models at basin level and has quality assured the models together with the Environment Centers. Furthermore, a number of development projects have been initiated, which include further development of the helicopter-borne geophysical method SkyTEM with focus on mapping geological structures close to the surface. Finally, GEUS has arranged a wide range of courses and team days for the employees at the Environment Centers and, where relevant, also for employees from private consultancy firms participating in the work.

New methods for adaptive management of water resources
The world's water resources are under increasing pressure, and there are greater demands for management of resources, which can take into account both people's and nature's needs for water. There is a need for holistic solutions counterbalancing uncertainties such as changes in needs and the effects of climate change. Water operators must solve complex problems, where the interests of agriculture and industry conflict with demands to conserve the best possible aquatic environment and it is difficult to assess the consequences of a proposal for balanced management. During 2007, GEUS participated in the EU-funded research project NeWater, which is currently developing methods and tools to help make the right decisions. The project is working in seven basins in Europe, Asia and Africa. GEUS has participated in the testing of new methods for adaptive management of intensively exploited groundwater aquifers in the Guadiana river basin in Spain. Among other things, the work has tested the decision tool known as Bayesian Belief Network, which has turned out to be very useful for researchers as well as practical water operators in elucidating the problems of the area and in identifying and weighting the necessary decisions and initiatives which can solve the water conflict. The results from the NeWater project support implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Water Initiative, and during the project the experience and methods will be included in a "guide book" and a portal for water operators containing guidelines, training material, experience from the seven river basins, and tools for adaptive water management. GEUS ensures ongoing evaluation of the quality of the institution's scientific work. In 2007 the quality of GEUS' research within the Water Resources programme area was subject to a thorough check by an international panel appointed by the Danish Council for Strategic Research. In a report, the panel concludes that GEUS' research is of a high quality and singles out research within pesticides, soil contamination and hydrological modelling. It also concludes that the institution provides advice of high quality and relevance to society. GEUS' board of directors has subsequently expressed its satisfaction with the report and has decided that an action plan is to be prepared on the basis of the panel's recommendations for improvements.

International research evaluation
GEUS ensures ongoing evaluation of the quality of the institution's scientific work. In 2007 the quality of GEUS' research within the Water Resources programme area was subject to a thorough check by an international panel appointed by the Danish Council for Strategic Research. In a report, the panel concludes that GEUS' research is of a high quality and singles out research within pesticides, soil contamination and hydrological modelling. It also concludes that the institution provides advice of high quality and relevance to society. GEUS' board of directors has subsequently expressed its satisfaction with the report and has decided that an action plan is to be prepared on the basis of the panel's recommendations for improvements.

New method for soil and groundwater screening
The straw shortener, chlormequat, is often used to regulate the growth of corn, ornamental plants and seed grass in Denmark and abroad. The substance has received great attention due to its possible affects on the reproduction system. Regulations have been introduced on using the substance in connection with food production, but so far there has been no focus on whether the substance will leach into the groundwater and there have been no methods of analysis for the substance's presence in soil and water. For years this has worried Danish waterworks, which have not been able to test whether chlormequat is a problem for drinking water. GEUS and Københavns Energi took up this challenge, and now there is a usable analysis method as well as the first test-sample results of analysis of groundwater from some of Københavns Energi's wells. The analyses were all negative and the study indicates that extensive use of the substance does not pose a serious risk to the groundwater quality in the five wells examined. With a view to a more general conclusion of the substance's fate in Danish soil, more detailed field studies in the Danish Pesticide Leaching Assessment Programme have been initiated, where three test fields in Denmark were treated with chlormequat in April 2007.

The water cycle under a changed climate
In 2007 GEUS examined the effects of future climate change on the fresh water cycle. With help from the national hydrological DK-model, calculations have been made for West Jutland by using two climate scenarios from the Danish Meteorological Institute. The survey, which was carried out on behalf of the Danish Water and Waste Water Association (DANVA) and Københavns Energi, follows up on a similar national study in 2006, but this time with the incorporation of the consequences of changes in land use and increase in sea levels. Calculations show that climate change can affect the hydrological system in West Jutland significantly with large seasonal and geographical variations. The expected severe winter precipitation will result in increased groundwater levels and a significantly larger run-off into watercourses, particularly during the winter period. Furthermore, a higher sea level will result in increased groundwater levels in a zone of 2-10 kilometres from the coast. Both can result in water-logged areas or flooding, which can create problems for farmers far into the spring. The groundwater level will generally rise, but drying-out can be expected of the upper aquifers in the late summer, which may result in less run-off into watercourses in August-September. The consequences not only depend on the climate, but also on the need for field irrigation and the type of dominant crop. For example, a doubling of forests will only result in a marginal reduction in the average groundwater recharge, although it is likely that the groundwater recharge will be reduced noticeably in the late summer in areas dominated by forest. The survey has analysed isolated scenarios for changes in land use and sea level and can therefore not give answers to the exact size of the changes, but the work has identified a number of important consequences for future land-use planning and water abstraction strategy.