Groundwater program
Monitoring of the groundwater (>2 m) in the KCS has been
conducted since 1980 by the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU) as part of
their national monitoring. The past decade has seen a continuous
expansion of the groundwater well network, currently resulting in over
150 wells within the KCS. With the exception of a 150 m deep well
penetrating the bedrock, the wells are placed in the Quaternary deposits
at depths between ca. 2-30 m. Most wells are of piezometer type, to
allow the determination of the hydraulic head in given soil layers as
well as extraction of groundwater samples for chemical and isotopic
analyses at specific depths. The wells are primarily distributed in the
central parts of the catchments, but there are also well-clusters where
the groundwater from different depths at the same location can be
investigated (Fig 1d). The purpose of these installations has been to
enhance the understanding of deeper groundwater in the landscape, with
respect to transit times (Peralta-Tapia et al. 2015), flow pathways
(Lidman et al. 2016), residence times (Kolbe et al., 2020) and water
chemistry (Klaminder et al. 2011). On-going collaboration with the SGU
is aimed at developing a 3D soil map for the entire KCS in order to
provide a stronger foundation for further exploration of the links
between Quaternary deposits, hydrology, and water quality. The project
includes further geophysical investigations of the area, including
transient electromagnics, drilling, and installation of more groundwater
wells.