Estimated groundwater reserve. Who evaluates groundwater resources?

In our state all minerals belong to the people, and their use is possible on the basis of a special license. In order to obtain such a permit, it will be necessary to obtain a license for mining operations. This procedure is preceded by the registration, which is based on the assessment.

Groundwater Reservoir Assessment - comprehensive works that allow to estimate the amount of produced water, its suitability and quality. At this stage, a possible water withdrawal regime is also determined, which will not have a negative impact on groundwater status and the environment.

Course of work

The works consist of certain activities:

• Collection of archival data, analysis of hydrogeological conditions of subsoil in a specific locality;
• Analysis of the characteristics of groundwater and the environment;
• Geophysical research;
• Experimental filtration work;
• Work on monitoring the regime of water.

After the collection of all the data, processing of the received information, field works is carried out. Hydrogeological calculations are done with modeling. In conclusion, a report on the assessment of groundwater resources is being compiled.

The categories of groundwater resources, depending on the degree of their study

There are such categories:

• A - confirms that the water intake has a proven operational experience.
• B - confirms the fact of experimental pumping.
• C1 - indicates hydrogeological investigations and positive calculated data.
• C2 - can be assigned to a huge area of the area, without reference to a particular place of water intake.

Assessment of groundwater resources with the assignment of the first two categories gives the right to withdraw water in certain reports with a license for 25 years.

Category C1 is beneficial for long-term water abstraction. It is understood that with the stage-by-stage introduction of production category A or B can be considered as the first stage, and C1 - as a reserve for the future. The category is also beneficial in cases where in a particular area the water reserves that can be extracted without damage to the environment are coming to an end. Although licenses of this category are not issued for a long time (not more than 5 years), but during this time, you can conduct all design and construction work. Upon completion of construction, the water intake is subject to revaluation.

Methods of reconnaissance work

The groundwater reserve assessment includes several activities. After a positive forecast is received, the site becomes a promising category. The reconnaissance work begins, consisting of the following stages.

Preliminary exploration

At this stage, the features of the site, its geological structure, are studied. Quantitative and qualitative estimation is carried out, sources of formation of stocks are studied. The most rational scheme of erection of water intake assemblies is substantiated . In fact, the general location is determined, and it turns out whether it will be able to provide the declared capacity.

Detailed Intelligence

The second stage is only transferred if the site is really promising for industrial use.

Detailed exploration involves the definition of the category with maximum accuracy and the calculation of the level of reserves with a prospect for the near future. It is these data that are needed for the design of the VCU. The site is studied for natural hydrodynamic phenomena (it is meant whether there can be landslides and landslides on the site), the size of subsidence soils and the degree of their freezing are measured. The category of drillability depends on these parameters.

Exploration Exploration

This type of work assumes already stable industrial development of the site with parallel research works:

• Study possible conditions for the formation of a depression funnel;
• Stationary monitoring is carried out on the ground at the level of water lowering;
• A qualitative study of water is conducted, how much it changes over a certain period (month, year), a forecast is made for future periods;
• The necessary measures to replenish reserves are planned to protect the water reservoir from depletion, and a number of other measures.

Estimation of the operational reserves of groundwater is a very important stage in the process of underground water abstraction. If we compare solid minerals and groundwater, then the latter have a dynamic character, that is, water changes in composition, quality and quantity constantly. There is no possibility to count the amount of water once and always count on a certain amount of water consumption. The magnitude of outflow and influx depends on a variety of factors that should be constantly studied and analyzed.

Who evaluates groundwater resources?

At the legislative level, the responsibility for conducting water assessment is assigned to the subsoil user. It is clear that an ordinary person can not conduct such work independently, so he refers to organizations involved in similar work.

The subsoil user is obliged to obtain two licenses:

• On geological study;
• For the extraction of groundwater.

Licenses must be obtained consistently. First, prospecting and then mining. Every user of groundwater must understand that regulations presuppose responsibility for the use of water without a license. The subsoil user is not exempted from the obligation to obtain permits, even if the well was formed 100 years ago or passed into ownership together with the land plot. Although the law allows a well to be used without a license, if it only covers the needs of a particular family and is not used on an industrial scale. The well can not serve as a source of water for several households. In other cases, work must be carried out to assess the groundwater resources and a license is obtained. If this was not done, the actions fall within the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

What should I look for when selecting a performer?

To date, many companies offer services in hydrogeological research, not even having in their state such co-workers. Assessment of groundwater reserves should be conducted exclusively by a specialized specialist, therefore it is better to look for a professional, not an organization. It is best that he has not only a diploma in the field of "hydrogeology" behind his shoulders, but also publications in profile literature. The geologist must have practically implemented projects and approved reports.

It is not recommended to negotiate with managers and even directors of companies. As a rule, they resell orders, and, therefore, the customer will have to pay twice.

There is still a great risk of contacting a non-core organization and not getting the desired amount of water consumption. This problem, of course, is eliminated when the work is carried out on an already completed well and all activities are aimed solely at legalizing the use of water.

Why do we need a reassessment of water withdrawal reserves?

Assessment and reassessment of groundwater reserves is a complex geological procedure, the main direction of which is the rational use of existing subsurface resources. Fresh water is a valuable resource that requires constant protection from the person.

Reassessment of groundwater does not always have only an economic basis. In some regions, groundwater is the only source of water supply, so there is no question of the appropriateness of the approach. Revaluation work involves the protection of aquifers from degradation and depletion. Constant control over water quality is carried out. The influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on the degree of its contamination is studied.

Entrepreneurial risks

It should be remembered that an estimate of the groundwater reserve may be negative, but until a positive result is obtained, considerable financial resources will be invested. It is possible that, according to the report, it will be proved that industrial water abstraction is inexpedient in the economic sense for industrial production. Therefore, this type of entrepreneurial activity is quite risky.