Urban Subsurface Hydrology

As cities expand massively downward and underground space replaces the urban sub-surface, accurate urban water balances are systematically overlooked. The results are truncated water balance analyses with unforeseen consequences, sometimes costly and tragic. Focusing on this underappreciated but important area, this book presents a fully integrated approach to the conceptualisation and analysis of urban hydrogeology and engineering.

Management of below-ground urban areas involves both groundwater and infrastructure elements, so it is crucial to understand both elements individually and how they interact. Assistive models can provide accurate results only if they correctly reproduce hydrogeological processes and hydraulic and mechanic interactions between groundwater and infrastructure. These tools must incorporate quantitative and qualitative urban groundwater stresses and delineate critical levels of urban groundwater mismanagement as well as corresponding threshold principles. Understanding the science behind and consequences of these aspects is necessary for cities' subsurface management.

The book is for a wide range of readers interested in achieving working knowledge of the ground that cities are built on and its properties and behavior in relation to subsurface hydrology. It is essential reading for professionals, from civil engineers and infrastructure developers to geotechnical specialists and land-use planners, and upper-level graduate students in hydrogeology, geotechnics, urban geology, urban planning, and ecology.