MIKAPO – Developing Water Supply Security in a Changing Climate, Mikkeli’s Bedrock Groundwater Potential

Introduction

 

Water supply is an essential service for human well-being and societal functions, the availability and quality of which must be secured. The planning of water supply systems must also take into account the challenges posed by a changing climate. Bedrock groundwater is often better protected from both activities that threaten groundwater and threats caused by a changing climate. In the Pursiala and Hanhikangas groundwater areas in the city of Mikkeli, the impact of surface water is significant, increasing their susceptibility to exceptionally heavy rainfall and prolonged drought periods.

The MIKAPO project investigates the potential to develop and improve the security of water supply in central Mikkeli by utilising bedrock groundwater resources in areas close to the city centre. The project applies and further develops the research concept for deep and bedrock groundwater. Based on existing background data, the quality and structural characteristics of the bedrock in areas south and east of central Mikkeli appear promising with regard to the utilisation of bedrock groundwater resources.

Identifying a high-yielding bedrock well requires extensive geological, hydrogeological and geophysical surveys. It is essential to detect fracture zones within the bedrock and to locate the well in the fracture zone with an accuracy of a few metres. In many cases, bedrock fracture zones extend only to depths of approximately 100 metres, after which fracture density decreases rapidly with increasing depth. The key objective of the project is to improve the water supply and security of supply of central Mikkeli by identifying bedrock groundwater resources in the vicinity of the city centre that can be connected to the water supply network.

Project partners: GTK (coordinator), the City of Mikkeli and Mikkelin Vesilaitos

Funding: European Regional Development Funds (ERDF) and Economic Development Centre of Eastern Finland

Project Manager: Elina Lindsberg

 

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