How can we estimate the impacts of earthquakes on water resources?

Published on by in Academic

Nepal was hit by a destructive earthquake on 24th April 2015. Thousands of lives were lost with in addition to huge damage.

The earthquake also affected the water resources significantly. The most affected water resources are stone spouts and dug wells according to our survey. The level of water has increased in some spouts, while others are yielding less water. We are planning on evaluating the impacts on water resources by the earthquake in affected districts of Nepal. We are seeking for the best method to do it.


If you have done a similar impact study, please share the methodology, data collected and critical issues to be surveyed.

I would appreciate your valuable suggestions.

 

Taxonomy

9 Answers

  1. Though I have not dealt with the impact assessment studies for the similar topic, I was dealing with the temporary and long term restoration of water resources project (Dams/ Canals/Pipelines etc.) affected by one of the worst earthquakes (in 2001 in Kutchh Gujarat-India). I would suggest to delineate the issues related to the ground water and surface water, which can be dovetailed subsequently. Apart from the economic aspects, there is a huge social impact which needs to be evaluated. Impact on irrigation, drinking /domestic water supply, industrial water , hydro power generation may also be evaluated.

    Rajesh Bhatt

    Poseidon Hydro Infratech

    Ahmedabad (Gujarat -India)

    1 Comment

  2. Hydrological effects of the MW7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake, 4 September 2010, New Zealand1

    SC Coxa*, HJ Rutterb, A Simsc, M Mangad, JJ Weirb, T Ezzye, PA Whitef, TW Hortong and D Scotte

    aGNS Science, Dunedin, New Zealand; bAqualinc Research Limited, Christchurch, New Zealand; cDepartment of Geography, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand; dDepartment of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, USA; eEnvironment 5 Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; fGNS Science, Taupo, New Zealand; gGeological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch,

    New Zealand

    (Received 7 December 2011; final version received 25 March 2012)

    10 The MW7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake on 4 September 2010 generated widespread hydrological effects ranging from near-instantaneous coseismic liquefaction and changes of groundwater levels in boreholes, to more sustained (days to weeks) post-seismic changes in spring flow, river discharge and groundwater piezometric levels, to longer term shifts in groundwater level one year after the earthquake. Groundwater piezometric responses include local groundwater level increases of 20 m around the Greendale Fault, particularly in deep aquifers (80 m), whereas decreases occurred in coastal confined aquifers 15 beneath Christchurch city. Increases of up to 5 m persisted within 20 km of the fault 12 h after the earthquake.  Groundwater levels and springs were affected throughout New Zealand, from 350 km away in Southland to nearly 1000 km away in Northland, even where shaking intensities were less than Modified Mercalli Intensity (MM) 34 (weak to largely observed) and peak ground acceleration was much B0.01 g. Release of artesian groundwater pressure and groundwater flow are postulated to have played pivotal roles in Christchurch liquefaction.

    20 Keywords: earthquake; groundwater; piezometric level; artesian; aquifer; liquefaction

  3. Good question but no answer because the question needs modify somewhere different considering the result of tsunami, flooding and aquatic ecosystem.

  4. Hi..Anju

    Its very intrested to discuss about the implication of earthquake with the well water resource .As you know the earthquake is the nature phenomenon that cause from the earth block movements.many of earth structure lay will change from the existing .so thats why the well of waterresource will effect after the earth quake diassaster.

  5. Hi..Anju

    Its very intrested to discuss about the implication of earthquake with the well water resource .As you know the earthquake is the nature phenomenon that cause from the earth block movements.many of earth structure lay will change from the existing .so thats why the well of waterresource will effect after the earth quake diassaster.

  6. Hi

    It is already good that you have identifiy that The most affected water resources are stone spouts and dug wells. the question now is what parameters are affected. you have mentioned water levels but there are other variable in the quantity, quaiity, accessibility and structure of wells that can be explored as well as groundwater characteristics. do read about hose parameters and look at those yur unstrumentation coud help you proceeding and then set your methodology.

    Here's a google link where you can get some readings

     

    https://www.google.com/search?q=chute+des+fruits+de+gombo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=earthquake%27s+impact+on+groundwater.pdf

     

    Regards

  7. Miss Air, since the beggining of the times, or from the BIG BANG, according to your religion or not, the water quantity is the same on Earth! Lavoisier existed, and the mass conservation law is a reality!

    Nothing changes, I think, cause everything just transforms!

    BR

    RODRIGO 

    1 Comment

    1. Dear Rodrigo, thank you for your suggestion, but we are not limited to quantity of water. We are also looking for overall changes including quality, accessibility and other parameters.

  8. Dear Anju,

    Seismic waves have two main types of effects on groundwater levels: oscillations , and "permanent" offsets . Muddy or turbid water at long distances from the epicenter are most likely an aftereffect of oscillations.Surface-water responses to earthquakes include changes in chemistry, seiches (wave oscillations) in lakes and other open water bodies, increases in stream, spring, and seep discharge, some instances of springs going dry or the appearance of new springs, and a very few examples of decreases in stream discharge.

    Water levels in wells respond to the seismic-wave induced expansion and contraction of the aquifer tapped by the well, in turn causing step or oscillatory fluid-pressure changes.Stream flow may continue to increase for a few days and then gradually decline toward the pre-earthquake baseline condition for several months. Water flowing in a stream can come from overland flow or from ground water discharging into the streambed (base flow). An abrupt increase in stream flow without precipitation or upstream reservoir release indicates increased contributions from the ground-water system.

    Japan has some of the best documented occurrences of precursory hydrogeological changes, preceding both the 1978 M6.8 Izu-Oshima earthquake and the more recent, disastrous 1995 M7.2 Kobe earthquake Before either or both of these events, water-level changes occurred in many wells, and there appeared to have been precursory changes in ground-water temperature, radon, chloride, and sulfate concentrations, as well as dissolved gas ratios in mineral springs The preseismic changes in chloride and sulfate content of the Kobe event were reconstructed by analyzing dated, bottled ground water that is distributed in the domestic market. The well-documented and similar hydrogeologic precursors at Izu-Oshima and Kobe have motivated the Japanese government to continue water-level monitoring at more than 30 wells in seismically active areas.

    Please find attached herewith some case study.

    With regards,

    Prem Baboo

    1 Comment

  9. Anju Ji,

    It is nice to hear that you are going to conduct earthquake impact study on water resources. Not only in Nepal, this type of impact was also observed after Sikkim 2011 earthquake.

    There are impacts on different types of water resources . It requires collecting primary data with the intensive field work which is currently lacking to formulate an appropriate methodology. Of course, if you are thinking to gather social data besides scientific data then there are plenty of options.

     

    .