Project progress report 2010-11 : groundwater monitoring in urban areas : a pilot study in Glasgow, UK

The work described in this progress report is part of ongoing efforts to develop a better
conceptual understanding of the groundwater system in Glasgow. It is also aimed at developing
protocols for improved groundwater monitoring in urban areas, which is a key step in improving
hydrogeological understanding.
In 2009 BGS started a pilot project to examine the potential for the development of a long-term
urban groundwater monitoring network in Glasgow, using existing monitoring boreholes. The
project has close links to a number of BGS projects: the Clyde Urban Super Project (CUSP) and
the Industrial Legacies project; a project being carried out jointly between Glasgow City Council
(GCC) and BGS under the Local Authorities and Research Councils Initiative (LARCI); and
wider research into groundwater monitoring and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) within the
BGS Urban Development and Groundwater Systems and Monitoring teams.
Project aims
 Identify and collate existing groundwater monitoring data (groundwater level and
chemistry data) for Glasgow
 Design, develop and populate a dedicated database to store the groundwater monitoring
data (and associated borehole data), and make it easily available for analysis and
interpretation
 Interpret the collated data, in conjunction with related datasets (e.g. 3D geological
models), and so develop an improved conceptual model of the shallow (superficial
deposits) groundwater regime in Glasgow
 Use the collated data and hydrogeological interpretation to design a pilot groundwater
monitoring network in a selected area in Glasgow, using existing monitoring boreholes,
and specify a monitoring regime and protocol.
 Make recommendations for a future longer-term (>10 yrs) and larger scale (Glasgowwide)
groundwater monitoring network.
Why monitor groundwater in Glasgow?
Drivers for long-term groundwater monitoring in Glasgow have been identified in consultation
with stakeholders, in particular GCC and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
There is a wide range of groundwater issues, each of which requires slightly different
hydrogeological information to properly address. Any one groundwater monitoring network
cannot capture data to address all of these issues. It is important, therefore, that monitoring is
targeted to one or two key drivers is essential so that the monitoring network can capture data
that is both representative of the groundwater system and appropriate to the monitoring need.
The two key drivers identified are:
 the need to address the existing gaps in basic hydrogeological data for Glasgow, which
currently limit our understanding of the groundwater system; and
 the need to understand the effects of urban regeneration and development on the
groundwater system, and in particular the effect of sustainable drainage schemes (SuDs).
Other related drivers for monitoring groundwater across Glasgow are:
 the requirement of stakeholders for assistance in regulating impacts on the groundwater
system and meeting Water Framework Directive (WFD) and other regulatory
requirements
 the need to better understand the impact of contaminated land on groundwater
the need to understand the impact of heat engineering schemes and existing groundwater
abstractions on the groundwater system
 the need to understand the role of groundwater in flooding.