Title: Impact of urbanisation on ground water resources: experience from developing countries

Authors: Mutu Tantrige Osada Vishvajith Peiris; Navarethnam Gowshitharan

Addresses: Department of Town and Country Planning, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka ' Department of Town and Country Planning, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

Abstract: Urbanisation is a phenomenon resulted in rural-to-urban migration of people and rapid conversion of lands for development purposes. Ground water resources are threatened by the unregulated land use changes and over exploitation for urban needs. This study aimed at analysing the impact of land use changes driven by urban growth on the ground water resources at Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Over 50% of samples show absolute scarcity levels while nitrate and phosphate contributed most to the pollution and reduced the quality of ground water sources. Spatial distribution of water quality and quantity measures suggest that immediate intervention is required to regulate the land use changes while managing the demand and supply within aquifer area. The results suggested the importance of water as a key factor in planning of cities, especially in arid regions and recommendations were provided to integrate sustainable water management practices into urban planning practices in future.

Keywords: urbanisation; water scarcity; pollution; land use planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJARGE.2023.136652

International Journal of Agricultural Resources, Governance and Ecology, 2023 Vol.19 No.2, pp.105 - 122

Accepted: 12 Apr 2022
Published online: 15 Feb 2024 *

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