Impacts on our aquifer

Pollution

The increasing population and infrastructure have added pressure which negatively impacts the aquifer.

The heavy use of tarmacs means rainfall washes down the drain rather than soaking into the ground. When the drains lead to a soakaway into the aquifer, all of the nasties on the road, from tyres and chemicals wash off into these drains and into the aquifer. Even smaller acts such as dumping paint down can lead to polluting the aquifer.

Pollution from roads isn’t the only concern; farming can have a negative impact too. Often farms use nitrate fertilisers – chemicals too small for the chalk to filter out of the aquifer.

Southern Water technicians have detected rising nitrate levels at two-thirds of their boreholes, with seasonal peaks as autumn and winter rains increase leaching.

This rising trend and the seasonal peaks need to be reduced to meet acceptable levels of drinking water quality. We can reduce them through additional treatment or diluting the concentration by mixing water with supplies from another source. Either way, this involves ‘building’ a solution for symptoms rather than tackling the source of the problem.