Abstract
Aquaculture industries generally extract large amounts of groundwater for the cultivation of fish. To reduce the adverse effects on fish cultivation and groundwater drawdown, this study develops a method that simultaneously considers the spatial variability of groundwater in terms of quality and quantity in order to determine sustainable groundwater use for aquaculture in the Pingtung Plain, Taiwan. Because of limited observation data with high prediction uncertainty, sequential indicator simulation (SIS) was adopted to reproduce the spatial distributions of the main pollutants in groundwater, manganese and ammonium-nitrogen. The corresponding distributions of the groundwater utilization ratio (GUR), which is defined as the ratio showing the volume of groundwater utilization compared to pond water, were determined based on the mass balance of the hydrochemical parameters in the groundwater, surface water, and pond water. Four categories in groundwater utilization—GUR < 0.1 (strictly limited), 0.1 ≦ GUR < 0.5 (minor), 0.5 ≦ GUR < 1 (major), and GUR = 1 (completely used)—were characterized based on estimated probabilities. A safe GUR was selected from a maximum estimation probability of the groundwater categories. SIS was also used to grade the transmissivity fields for gauging the pumping capacity of the aquifers. Finally, for different conditions indicating groundwater quality and quantity, the combinations were delineated spatially to provide decision makers with detailed information which will enable them to wisely select a reliable scheme for groundwater management of fishponds. The analytical results reveal that groundwater can be completely used for fish farming in 6.9 % of aquifers, but should serve as a minor water resource for fishponds in 8.6 % of aquifers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AERC (Agriculture Engineering Research Center) (2008) Analysis and evaluation of the groundwater quality survey in Taiwan areas. Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taiwan
Appelo CAJ, Postma D (1993) Geochemistry. Groundwater and Pollution. A.A. Balkema Publishers, Rotterdam, pp 239–295
Castrignanò A, Goovaerts P, Lulli L, Bragato G (2000) A geostatistical approach to estimate probability of occurrence of Tuber melanosporum in relation to some soil properties. Geoderma 98:95–113
CENPRO Technology Company (2008) The environment monitoring of the water quality in the southern area of Taiwan from 2008 to 2010 (2008). Environmental Protection Agency (EPA-97-L01-02-204), Executive Yuan, Taiwan, pp 735–749. http://edb.epa.gov.tw/envdb2/#
Deutsch CV (2002) Geostatistical reservoir modeling. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 124–152
Deutsch CV, Journel AG (1998) GSLIB: geostatistical software library and user’s guide, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York
Diodato N, Ceccarelli M (2005) Environinformatics in ecological risk assessment of agroecosystems pollutant leaching. Stoch Env Res Risk Assess 19(4):292–300
El-Shafai SA, El-Gohary FA, Nasr FA, van der Steen NP, Gijzen HJ (2004) Chronic ammonia toxicity to duckweed-fed tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Aquaculture 232(1–4):117–127
Emery X (2004) Properties and limitations of sequential indicator simulation. Stoch Env Res Risk Assess 18(6):414–424
Goovaerts P (1997) Geostatistics for natural resources evaluation. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 259–368
Goovaerts P, AvRuskin G, Meliker J, Slotnick M, Jacquez G, Nriagu J (2005) Geostatistical modeling of the spatial variability of arsenic in groundwater of southeast Michigan. Water Resour Res 41. doi:10.1029/2004WR003705
Jang CS (2008) Probabilistic assessment of safe groundwater utilization in farmed fish ponds of blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas in terms of the regulation of arsenic concentrations. Sci Total Environ 392:59–68
Jang CS, Liu CW, Lin KH, Huang FM, Wang SW (2006) Spatial analysis of potential carcinogenic risks associated with ingesting arsenic in aquacultural tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) in blackfoot disease hyperendemic areas. Environ Sci Technol 40:1707–1713
Jang CS, Chen SK, Lin CC (2008) Using multiple-variable indicator kriging to assess groundwater quality for irrigation in the aquifers of the Choushui River alluvial fan. Hydrol Process 22(22):4477–4489
Jang CS, Liou YT, Liang CP (2010) Probabilistically determining roles of groundwater use in aquacultural fishponds. J Hydrol 388:491–500
Jang CS, Chen SK, Kuo YM (2012) Establishing an irrigation management plan of sustainable groundwater based on spatial variability of water quality and quantity. J Hydrol 414–415:201–210
Juang KW, Lee DY (1998) Simple indicator kriging for estimating the probability of incorrectly delineating hazardous areas in a contaminated site. Environ Sci Technol 32:2487–2493
Juang KW, Chen YS, Lee DY (2004) Using sequential indicator simulation to assess the uncertainty of delineating heavy-metal contaminated soils. Environ Pollut 127:229–238
Liu CW, Jang CS, Liao CM (2004) Evaluation of arsenic contamination potential using indicator kriging in the Yun-Lin aquifer (Taiwan). Sci Total Environ 321:173–188
Liu CW, Wang SW, Jang CS, Lin KH (2006) Occurrence of arsenic in groundwater of the Choshui river alluvial fan Taiwan. J Environ Qual 35:68–75
Saisana M, Dubois G, Chaloulakou A, Spyrellis N (2004) Classification criteria and probability risk maps: limitations and perspectives. Environ Sci Technol 38:1275–1281
Taiwan CGS (Central Geological Survey) (2002) Hydrogeological survey report of pingtung plain, Taiwan. Central Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, pp 97–142
Taiwan EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) (1998) Classification and standards of water quality in surface water. Environmental Protection Agency, Executive Yuan, Taiwan. http://law.epa.gov.tw/zh-tw/laws/309417667.html
Taiwan Sugar Company (1997) Establishment and operational management of groundwater monitoring network. Water Resources Bureau, Taiwan, pp 2–12
Taiwan Sugar Company (2005) Groundwater quality monitoring and analysis for taiwan groundwater monitoring network (2/2). Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Executive Yuan, Taiwan, pp 10-1–10-74
Ting CS, Zhou Y, de Vries JJ, Simmers I (1998) Development of a preliminary ground water flow model for water resources management in the Pingtung Plain Taiwan. Ground Water 35(6):20–36
Van Meirvenne M, Goovaerts P (2001) Evaluating the probability of exceeding a site-specific soil cadmium contamination threshold. Geoderma 102:75–100
Wang SW, Liu CW, Jang CS (2007) Factors responsible for high arsenic concentrations in two groundwater catchments at Taiwan. Appl Geochem 22:460–476
Ye CX, Tian LX, Yang HJ, Liang JJ, Niu J, Liu YJ (2009) Growth performance and tissue mineral content of juvenile grouper (Epinephelus coioides) fed diets supplemented with various levels of manganese. Aquac Nutr 15(6):608–614
Zeng GM, Liang J, Guo SL, Shi L, Xiang L, Li XD, Du CY (2009) Spatial analysis of human health risk associated with ingesting manganese in Husngxing Town, Middle China. Chemosphere 77:368–375
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China, providing data on hydrochemical parameters in groundwater and T fields in the Pingtung Plain, and the National Science Council, Republic of China, for financially supporting this research under Contract Nos. NSC99-2116-M-242-001 and NSC100-2410-H-424-017-MY2.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jang, CS., Liang, CP. & Wang, SW. Integrating the spatial variability of water quality and quantity to probabilistically assess groundwater sustainability for use in aquaculture. Stoch Environ Res Risk Assess 27, 1281–1291 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-012-0664-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00477-012-0664-z