Abstract
On-going population growth and resulting domestic demand for water require rapid and effective decision-making as regards groundwater management and control of the various sources of salinization and pollution in Coastal aquifers. Sustainability of water resources for utilization by future generations must therefore be a high priority, not only for the purpose of fulfilling needs for water usage but also for bringing people into harmony with their ambient natural environment.
The objective of this paper is to propose an empirical approach for prioritization of the needs involved for sustainable aquifer management. The approach involves a schematic format to:
(1) develop a global understanding of an aquifer's hydrological and environmental properties in order to delineate appropriate eco-hydrological scenarios and recommend corresponding operational management activities; and
(2) emphasize the importance of educating and increasing the awareness of the population involved as to the need for and viability of socially acceptable measures for sustainable management of groundwater and other resources.
The psychologist Abraham Maslow utilized a pyramid to illustrate that until people's most basic needs were fulfilled, higher levels of needs would remain irrelevant. This paper postulates a comparable pyramid prioritizing hydrological needs required for progressing towards sustainable groundwater resources. Two sub-regions of Israel's Coastal aquifer in the Sharon region have been presented as representative areas, each characterized by different stress of exploitation. In assessing these sub-regions situation, specific measures have been recommended for achieving and/or maintaining sustainable groundwater resources in light of the ambient environment, and the level of the population on the pyramidal hierarchy of groundwater needs.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Appleyard, S.: 1995, 'The impact of urban development on recharge and groundwater quality in coastal aquifer in Perth, Western Australia', Hydrogeol. J. 3(2), 65–75.
Bachmat, Y. and Collin, M.: 1990, Management-oriented Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution, Israel Hydrological Service Report, Jerusalem, 30 pp.
Burmaster, D.E. and Harris, R.H.: 1982, 'Ground water contamination: an emerging threat', Technol. Rev. 85, 50–562.
Collin, M.: 1995, POLLSITE Land-use Register, Israel Hydrological Service, Hydrological Report, 2/95, Jerusalem, 35 pp.
Forkasiewickz, J. and Margat, J.: 1982, 'L'exploitation des réserves d'eau souterraine en zones aride et semi aride: Essai de synthèse', Bull. BRGM (2) III 2, 115–126.
IHSR: 1989, Hydrological Situation for the Autumn of 1988 and Trend Evolution Between 1983–1988, Israel Hydrological Service Report, Jerusalem, 80 pp. (in Hebrew).
IHSR: 1996, Development of Groundwater Resources in Israel up to Autumn 1995, Israel Hydrological Service Situation Report, 3/96. 242 pp. (in Hebrew).
IHSR: 2001, Development of Groundwater Resources in Israel up to Autumn 2000, Report 5/01, ISSN-0793-1093. 291 pp. (in Hebrew)
IMH: 1994, Drinking Water Standards, Israel Ministry of Health Report, Jerusalem, 20 pp.
Maslow, A.: 1937, 'The comparative approach to social behavior', J. Soc. Forces 15, 487–490.
Maslow, A.: 1943, 'A theory of human motivation', Psychol. Rev. 50, 370–396.
McHarg, I.L.: 1969. Design with Nature, New York, Doubleday/Natural History Press.
Melloul, A J. and Goldenberg, L.C.: 1997, 'Monitoring of seawater intrusion in Coastal aquifers: basics and local concerns', J. Environ. Manage. 51, 73–86.
Melloul, A.J. and Collin, M.L.: 2001, 'A hierarchy of groundwater management, land-use, and social needs integrated for sustainable resource development', Environ., Dev. Sustain. J. 3, 45–59.
Pretty, J.N.: 1996, 'Sustainability works'. UNEP Our Planet, 8(4), pp. 19–22.
Schultz, G.A. and Hornbogen, M.: 1995, 'Sustainable development of water resources systems with regard to long changes of design variables. Modelling and management of sustainable basin-scale water resource systems', Proceedings of a Boulder Symposium, July 1995. IAHS, Nr. 231, pp. 31–40.
Tolmach, Y.: 1979, Hydrogeological Atlas of Israel, Coastal Aquifer, Areas of Tel Aviv Through Hadera, Vols. 3–5, Hydrological Service Report, Jerusalem, 70 pp. (in Hebrew).
Travis, C.C. and Doty, A.: 1990, 'Can contaminated aquifers at superfund sites be remediated'. Environ. Sci. Technol. 24(10), 1464–1466.
WHO: 1993, Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality: Recommendations, 2nd edn, Geneva, World Health Organisation, Vol. 1, 188 pp.
Zoller, U., Goldenberg, L.C. and Melloul, A.J.: 1998, 'The short-cut enhanced contamination of the Gaza Strip Coastal aquifer', Water Res. 32, 1779–1788.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Melloul, A.J., Collin, M.L. Prioritization of Sustainable Groundwater Management Needs: The Case of the Israel's Stressed Coastal Aquifer. Environment, Development and Sustainability 4, 347–360 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024142123095
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024142123095