The Role of Groundwater as a Strategic and Economic Asset in Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, groundwater contributes 77 Ml/d out of 700 Ml/d in public supply, and a further 31 Ml/d to private users. Of the latter, agriculture takes about 11 Ml/d and industry uses 18 Ml/d; a further 2 Ml/d are consumed by up to 15 000 people for rural domestic needs. Groundwater is a protected asset and, as such, its use should be maximized for both strategic and commercial gain. Increased demand on the public supply system by the year 2001 will involve no new major groundwater input, but private exploitation of groundwater will increase, particularly by the specialist industries such as electronics and water bottling.     

The Quality of Shallow Groundwaters in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has a diverse range of rock types and lithologies which create small hydrogeological units, each with its own characteristics. The restricted geometry of these units permits only short and shallow groundwater flowpaths to develop, most with at least partial access to atmospheric oxygen. Each hydrogeological unit has a distinctive distribution of mineralization and major ions. In general, groundwater chemistry is stable with time, except for a few areas of intense agricultural activity where trends in nitrate nitrogen concentration are apparent. The relatively high rainfall in Northern Ireland dilutes surplus nutrients which, combined with year-round moist soils with an active bacterial population, ensures that nitrate nitrogen concentrations are generally low.     

The Development of a Waste Management Policy in Northern Ireland

With one or two isolated exceptions, waste management in Northern Ireland is not practised as a sequential process of waste avoidance, recycling and disposal by the best practical option. In order to update waste management practice in the province, the Government proposes to implement most of the waste management provisions contained in the Environmental Policy Act, 1990. Waste regulation will be made the responsibility of central government, while waste disposal and recycling will be the responsibility of central government, while waste disposal and recycling will be the responsibility of local authorities. The policy will have to be implemented within a set of distinctive social, political, geographical and economic factors which raise a number of questions as to the best way forward.     

The Water Resources of Lima, Peru

Lima, the capital city of Peru, depends for its water supply on the resources of the River Rimac and the alluvial aquifer above which the city is situated. This paper describes the limitations of the present supply and possible new sources which could be developed to augment the water supply in future.     

European Environmental Directives - Implications for Northern Ireland

This paper describes the current level of compliance in Northern Ireland with the European Community (EC) Directives on drinking water quality, bathing water quality², sewage sludge to land³ and the draft Directive on the disposal of sewage sludge to sea'. It examines the cost implications of full compliance. taking account of works already programmed, and concludes that additional funding will be required over the next ten years amounting to almost f250 million. A large proportion of this sum will be required for improvements relating to the drinking water Directive.
Compliance with the Directives is a statutory requirement throughout the UK. and there is no choice but to take the measures necessary to achieve full compliance.
An addendum to the paper describes the increase in estimated additional funding to approximately 440 million, due to general inflation and other factors since the paper was prepared. These other factors include the new draft municipal waste water treatment Directive, together with the March 1990 announcement by the UK Environment Minister committing the UK to the cessation of sewage sludge dumping at sea and the provision of sewage treatment for coastal outfalls.     

Water Resources and Management in the Republic of Ireland

Ireland is well-endowed with water resources and has one of the higher rates of water availability in Europe. However, regional variations in rainfall and population distribution give much less favourable conditions in the east of the country compared to other areas. Pollution of waters to date has been generally localized and moderate in intensity, although there is a trend towards eutrophication of the river systems. Piped water supplies, either from public or private schemes, are now available to nearly all dwellings in the state, both urban and rural. The same position holds for sewerage facilities in the urban areas, but nearly 25% of the rural population is still unserviced in this regard. Future development of services will place more emphasis on sewerage facilities, as outlined in the recently issued national action programme on the environment.     

The impact of the recent economic recession on the operation of the NEC contract in Northern Ireland

In May 2006, the New Engineering Contract (NEC) contract was introduced as the preferred contract for Northern Ireland public sector works. This was subsequently followed by the 2007 economic crash and ensuing recession, which continues to affect the Northern Ireland Construction Industry, to a greater extent than the remainder of the United Kingdom. However, use of the NEC contract has increased during this period, particularly in the public sector. There has been debate in the literature regarding the impact of the NEC contract on adversarial behaviour, but little consideration of the impact of external economic factors on the use of the NEC contract. Using a sequential mixed method approach, the study aims to fill this gap in knowledge through examination of the impact the economic downturn has had on the operation of the NEC contract in Northern Ireland. Qualitative and quantitative findings show that the demands placed by the NEC contract, and the effects of the economic recession, have exerted opposing forces on contract implementation, thus hindering its execution. The findings can lead to a deeper understanding, in the context of both industry and academia, of situations where a lack of resources may negatively impact the operation of the NEC contract.     

The Dynamics of Policy-Making under UK Devolution: Social Housing in Northern Ireland

Housing policy formation under the United Kingdom's devolution settlement is currently under-researched and insufficiently understood. This article uses the example of social housing policy-making in Northern Ireland to reflect on its impact. Five factors with the potential to influence post-devolution policy-making are identified: common UK citizenship and ideology, policy networks, the political process, the mechanics of devolution and membership of the European Union. A post-devolution review of social housing policy in Northern Ireland is followed by a discussion of three key issues from the 2007 to 2011 administration: governance, procurement of new social housing, and ‘shared space’ and a shared future. Interviews with policy-makers indicate that 2007–2011 marked the beginnings of a trend away from the technocratic domination of officials towards greater intervention and policy ownership by politicians, but that the significance of this should not be overstated. The implications for multi-level and multi-jurisdictional policy-making in devolved and federal states are considered.     

Predicting the Mean Annual Flood for Small Catchments: Experience in Northern Ireland

The paper describes six alternative equations for predicting mean annual flood from catchment characteristics, developed in and subsequent to the UK Flood Studies Report and tested for ten small catchments in Northern Ireland. The most satisfactory equation was found to be one developed in the mid-1980s for large catchments in the Province. Equations which were developed using small-catchment data from elsewhere in the UK performed less well. The paper considers whether there is a real difference in the behaviour of small and large catchments in Northern Ireland, and examines alternative methods of estimating the mean annual flood in partly-urbanised areas.     

Implications of excessive water withdrawals to the environment of Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus (NC) is at the cutting edge of complete salinization of freshwater resources. In spite of some precautions taken to reduce seawater intrusion of the groundwater resources, the contamination had increased up to brackish water attribute in the coastal aquifers. The Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management (IWRM) system was introduced as a powerful tool in order to identify water consumption in the country. To perform the future forecast, it is necessary to determine the water needs at the present time; thus, this research analysed the present and historical water budget of the country under normal and drought conditions. The calculations were extended to future forecasting of water needs considering different scenarios for the country. The results obtained were grouped into monthly, sector wise and regional consumptions. The water extractions are linked to the available water amounts, and the water deficiencies in the aquifers were revealed. A rough economical analysis of new water resources was also performed. Conclusions and recommendations are provided to guide scientists, engineers and stakeholders for the future studies and evaluations.     

Devolving Housing Policy and Practice in Northern Ireland 1998-2002

This paper reviews the effect of devolution on housing policy and practice in Northern Ireland. It outlines the history and context of devolution and housing policy in Northern Ireland, including the legacy and persistence of intense social conflict. Current devolution arrangements are reviewed, including the implications of enforced coalition for policy governance. The paper focuses on three dimensions of housing and housing-related policy development and implementation: social housing, especially the distinctive history and changing organisation of social housing provision; policies affecting the housing market, including the changing regime for spatial planning; and, regeneration and tenant participation. The paper argues that housing policy has tended to converge with policies in England, rather than moving towards a distinctively local agenda. Local political agendas remain dominated by disagreements over constitutional status thus policy formulation is determined more by officials than by elected politicians.     

日本非传统水源的开发利用

对日本发生缺水的原因、中水开发利用和海水淡化情况进行了分析.缺水首先是由地理条件、气候变化、年降雨量不均造成的,也与大坝建设困难以及人口、产业高度集中有关.日本的中水开发利用迅速,与方式多样、技术措施合理、经济政策有力密切相关.日本的海水淡化随技术进步还将有较快发展.     

Place and Special Places: Innovations in Conservation Practice in Northern Ireland

The ‘sense of place’ that relates human beings to their environment is under threat from the rising tide of ‘placelessness’ which can result from potentially positive forces such as urban regeneration as well as negative ones such as incremental degradation. The concept of ‘sense of place’, and the need to protect and enhance ‘special places’, has underpinned UK conservation legislation and policy in the post-war era. In Northern Ireland, due to its distinctive settlement tradition, its troubled political circumstances and its centralised administrative system, a unique hierarchy of ‘special places’ has evolved, involving ‘areas of townscape and village character’ as well as conventional ‘conservation areas’. For the first time a comprehensive comparative survey of the townscape quality of most of these areas has been carried out in order to test the hypothesis that too many conservation area designations may ‘devalue the conservation coinage’. It also assesses the contribution that ‘areas of townscape character’ can make in this situation, as potential conservation areas or as second-level local amenity designations. Its findings support the initial hypothesis: assessment of townscape quality on the basis of consistent criteria demonstrates a decline in the quality of more recent conservation area designations, and hence some ‘devaluation of the coinage’. However, the need for local discretion in the protection of local amenity supports the concept of ‘areas of townscape and village character’ as an additional and distinct designation. This contradicts recent policy recommendations from the Northern Ireland Planning Commission and contains valuable lessons for conservation policy and practice in other parts of the UK.     

论水资源管理模型存在的问题与发展趋势

在分析和总结现有资料的基础上 ,对水资源管理模型研究中存在的问题进行了分析 ,在此基础上提出了水资源管理模型的发展趋势。     

Comparison of Northern Ireland radon maps based on indoor radon measurements and geology with maps derived by predictive modelling of airborne radiometric and ground permeability data

Publicly available information about radon potential in Northern Ireland is currently based on indoor radon results averaged over 1-km grid squares, an approach that does not take into account the geological origin of the radon. This study describes a spatially more accurate estimate of the radon potential of Northern Ireland using an integrated radon potential mapping method based on indoor radon measurements and geology that was originally developed for mapping radon potential in England and Wales. A refinement of this method was also investigated using linear regression analysis of a selection of relevant airborne and soil geochemical parameters from the Tellus Project. The most significant independent variables were found to be eU, a parameter derived from airborne gamma spectrometry measurements of radon decay products in the top layer of soil and exposed bedrock, and the permeability of the ground. The radon potential map generated from the Tellus data agrees in many respects with the map based on indoor radon data and geology but there are several areas where radon potential predicted from the airborne radiometric and permeability data is substantially lower. This under-prediction could be caused by the radon concentration being lower in the top 30 cm of the soil than at greater depth, because of the loss of radon from the surface rocks and soils to air.     

Water resources management in the Jordan River Basin

The Jordan River Basin is under great hydric stress. Increases in population and agricultural demand are contributing to the closure of the basin. This paper analyses the results of integrated water resources planning model (WEAP) by studying the vulnerability of water resources in the lower Jordan River under a changing climate pattern and growing water demands. Water balance models show that all aquifers supplying the city of Amman will be depleted within the next few decades. Mitigation measures should include the introduction of additional water into the basin through the Red Sea–Dead Sea canal, in addition to demand management measures such as water conservation and increase in irrigation efficiency. The findings of this study would provide a useful guide to the co‐riparians for policy formulation, decision making and dispute resolution. Cooperation among the five riparian countries may be improved by building a Geographic Information System (GIS) database that provides access to accurate data for hydrological analysis.     

Inventorying Armagh: Max Lock,civil society,and the diffusion of planning ideas into Northern Ireland in the 1960s

The cathedral city of Armagh is one of the most historically and architecturally significant on the island of Ireland. This article explores the preparation of an inventory of Armagh’s architectural heritage by the London architect-planner Max Lock in 1964, commissioned by the Northern Ireland Committee of the National Trust. The inventory represents one aspect of the initial response of civil society to impending change in the built environment in the mid-1960s and formed part of efforts to ensure parity with Great Britain in land-use planning legislation. The inventory facilitates a wider discussion on state-civil society relations in Northern Ireland, the values and ideas guiding change within historic settlements, and the place promotional advantage that the local council sought to derive from Armagh’s history and heritage. Utilizing Ward’s typology of diffusion, it is argued that Northern Ireland represents an unusual ‘within-UK’ example of the transference of planning ideas and practices, with its historical experience of devolution offering valuable contemporary insights into the increasingly diffuse and fragmented governance space within the UK.     

Strategic Resource Development Options in England and Wales

This paper describes the options which had to be considered for new water resources in the development of the † National Rivers Authority's water resource strategy for England and Wales. The options included interregional transfers, strategic reservoirs, and a range of unconventional schemes including aquifer recharge, effluent re-use, groundwater abstraction where levels are rising, desalination, and transfer by sea. The main options are described and comparative costs are presented.     

我国"三步走"战略中工业需水量趋势

简要回顾了我国1980年—2002年的用水情况,对工业用水量与工业增加值的关系进行了分析。对我国在实现第三步战略目标这一过程中的工业需水量进行了预测,结果表明我国工业需水量将在2040年左右达到顶峰,约为1 600×108 m3。