Events & Courses

A joint meeting of the British Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) and the Hydrogeological Group of the Geological Society, including the 2019 Ineson Lecture.

• Full-day meeting including lunch and drinks reception
• Seven supporting talks addressing a broad range of urban groundwater issues
• Poster session
• IAH John Day Bursary Award (Early Career Hydrogeologist)
• Geological Society Whitaker Medal Award
• AGM of Geological Society Hydrogeological Group held at lunchtime

Registration and cost

Registration for this event closed on 22 November 2019.

Please note that there will be no registration on the door.

• Members (IAH, GSL) - £60
• Non-members - £80
• Students, including lunch - £20
• Students, no lunch - £10

Programme

9.30am: Registration – with refreshments in the Library

10.30am: Welcome

10.35am: Helen Fallas – Chief Geologist Scotland, BGS: "New city planning policy processes – creating a prescient awareness of groundwater for future places and people"

11.05am: Gareth Farr – BGS: "Low carbon heat recovery and storage in the shallow urban subsurface" – experiences from the Cardiff Urban Geo Observatory

11.35am: Dr Andrew Hughes – BGS: "Groundwater or underground water: how human activities creates new sub-surface pathways, using case studies from London"

12.05pm: Award of the John Day Bursary to Angélique Buisson, Hydrogeology MSc, University of Birmingham

12.15pm: Lunch – including posters and the Hydrogeological Group AGM

1.15pm: Dr Geoff Parkin – University of Newcastle: "Changing flow pathways from rising urban groundwater – potential flooding and other impacts in Newcastle and Gateshead"

1.45pm: Dr Mike Jones – Thames Water: "Groundwater resources in London – past, present and future" – an overview of issues and developments

2.15pm: Award of the 2019 Geological Society Whitaker Medal and Hydrogeological Group announcements – Rolf Farrell

2.30pm: Tea

2.55pm: Dr Mike Rivett – GroundH2O Plus and University of Strathclyde: "Birmingham groundwater and some contrasting legacies: solvents, de-icing salts and stuff in the streambeds"

3.25pm: Matt Tidy – Severn Trent Water: "The Birmingham aquifer – potential of groundwater resource for public water supply and city resilience"

3.55pm: Introduction to the Ineson lecture by Dr Mike Rivett

4.00pm: 2019 Ineson lecture – Professor Mario Schirmer (Eawag & Neuchâtel): "Challenges in Urban hydrogeology – groundwater quality and resources"

5.00pm: Drinks reception in the Lower Library

2019 Ineson Lecture

Speaker

The 2019 Ineson Lecture will be presented by Professor Mario Schirmer, Head of the Hydrogeology Research Group at Eawag, the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, and Professor at the Centre for Hydrogeology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

Professor Schirmer is a world-renowned hydrogeologist with an extensive publication history will be presenting a lecture titled “Challenges in Urban hydrogeology – groundwater quality and resources”.

The lecture

By 2050 the global population will have increased to 10 billion, by which time the UN forecasts that 68% of the world's population will live in urban areas (up from 55% at present), with as much as 90% of this urban growth occurring in Asia and Africa (UN 2018).

Groundwater is a major source of urban supply worldwide, and aquifer storage represents a key resource for achieving water supply security. Urbanisation greatly modifies the “groundwater cycle”, with significant impacts on both storage and water quality. 

Cities need to make more effective use of subsurface space as an essential element for their future efficiency, sustainability and resilience (IWA 2019). The IAH 2019 Ineson lecture series will focus on the need to understand, protect, manage, repair and sustain groundwater resources and quality in these growing urbanised environments.

Groundwater forms a key resource for future cities worldwide, for water, energy, flood mitigation, integrated surface-ground water management, and low carbon sustainable cities.

As one of the first regions to go through the industrial revolution and to undergo significant urbanisation, lessons can be learned from European historical experience: both in terms of understanding the causes and impacts of unstable groundwater conditions; and in looking forward to new opportunities for monitoring and developing urban groundwater storage and resources.

Posters

Posters relating to the presentation of new scientific understanding of key processes of urban groundwater resources, contamination impacts and opportunities are welcomed, as well as interdisciplinary presentations on urban planning, groundwater management and use.

Venue

The Geological Society
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London
W1J 0BG

Contact

Please contact Gerd Cachandt via [email protected] with any enquiries.