Historical Note/ David Deming, History Editor

Water to People, or People to Water?by John Lloyd

In providing details of my life, I take the opportunityto share my thoughts about water and people, especially inthe arid regions. I was born in Brighton on the south coastof England on February 1, 1935. My father was a grocer inBognor Regis, to the west of Brighton, where my familylived until I was 18 years old. I was initially educatedat a Nyewood Lane Church of England School and thenmoved to Chichester High School for Boys. At Chichester,my main academic interests were physical geography,pure, and applied math. I was school football captainfrom 1952 to 1953. At Chichester, I was introduced tofossil collecting on the Chalk Downs, which led meinto geology. I was fortunate to be accepted into theDepartment of Geology at the University of Bristol andgraduated in 1957.

GuyanaFollowing graduation, I was recruited by the British

Overseas Geological Survey to work in British Guiana(now Guyana), where I carried out geological mappinguntil 1961. Overseas travel in those days was sedate, outon the Elders and Fife banana boat Camito and back onthe luxury French Line Antilles. One worked as a lonegeologist with Amerindians in the dense Amazon-typejungle for 3-month period followed by three, somewhatirresponsible months in Georgetown, the capital. Accessinto the interior was by seaplane or boat. Surveying wascarried out along lines cut by the excellent Arawak crewsand base camps progressed as work dictated. It would take3 days to prepare a line suitable for moving camp, usuallyabout 5 miles. There was no contact with the outsideduring the 3-month jungle period, which was characterbuilding—so I was told! However, in Georgetown, I metand married my long suffering wife, Pat.

In the jungle, we very occasionally met gold prospec-tors and others on the rivers, but one day I came across

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences,University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UnitedKingdom; J.W.LLOYD@bham.ac.uk

Journal compilation ©2010NationalGroundWaterAssociation.No claim to original US government works.doi: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00738.x

John Lloyd circa 2010.

an American geologist, examining a falls area for aprospective dam site. This intrigued me and I subse-quently applied to study a diploma course in Engineer-ing Geology at Imperial College, University of London.I was accepted and following graduation joined Sir M.MacDonald & Partners, Consulting Civil Engineers (nowMott-MacDonald) in 1961 to work in Jordan.

JordanThe Jordan project involved water resources assess-

ment with spring surveys and analysis, wadi hydrology,and dam site geology appraisals. A major part of the workincluded a groundwater recharge assessment of the east-ern part of the country (Lloyd et al. 1966) carried outunder the guidance of Howard Penman. In parallel, geo-logical mapping of the country was being carried out witha water well inventory. The Consultant for this aspect ofthe work was Frank Dixey, who encouraged me to inter-pret and classify groundwater chemistry in relation to itsorigin and aquifer type.

In 1965, I was invited to join the Food and Agri-culture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as

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a hydrogeologist to continue in Jordan and carry outa groundwater resources assessment of the Cambro-Ordovician sandstones in the southern desert area bor-dering Saudi Arabia, which I did until 1969. The projectwas very well supported with equipment. We drilled outthe 1000-m thick aquifer, with structure holes up to1500-m deep. The hydraulic character, flow pattern, andbasic hydrochemistry of the system were defined (Lloyd1969). Excellent consultant support was provided fromthe United States by John Harshbarger, George Davis, andErnie Weber. We constructed the first groundwater modelin the region, which had to be run in Beirut as there wereno computers in Jordan.

My 7 years in Jordan influenced both my familyand professional life considerably. Our two childrenwere born during the period and we learnt about familyinterdependence through some occasionally very tryingtimes. Professionally, I became aware of the implacable,but fascinating, problems of arid zone hydrogeology. Iwas able to experience at first hand the exuberance ofproducing water in the desert and the responsibilityof careful professional appraisal of sustainability. Whilewith the FAO, I registered for an external doctorate in aridzone groundwater resources at the University of Bristol,which I completed in the year following my assignmentin Jordan.

ChileIn 1970, I joined the Institute of Geological Sciences

(now the British Geological Survey) and was immediatelyseconded to the British Overseas Development Adminis-tration to work in Chile. With a Chilean team, I put ina number of groundwater supplies for copper processingplants in the southern part of the Atacama Desert (Lloyd1974) and made a study of the aridity controls influencingthe area.

It was a difficult time politically for Chile, whichmade working conditions onerous, so that when an oppor-tunity of a hydrogeology lecturing post at the Universityof Birmingham arose in the UK I decided to apply. Duringmy doctorate year at Bristol, I had proposed the possibil-ity of launching a master’s course in hydrogeology, whichwas turned down. Ian Ford, my tutor at Bristol, however,had kept the proposal and sent it to Birmingham for myinterview. I was fortunate to be appointed and tasked withestablishing the M.Sc. in Hydrogeology and the researchgroup. It was a wonderful position with excellent supportfrom Fred Shotton and Don Griffiths in the Departmentof Geology and Mike Hamlin and Ken Rushton in theDepartment of Civil Engineering (Rushton 2009).

I started at Birmingham in 1973 and retired in 1999.I was appointed the Professor of Hydrogeology in 1987and currently hold Emeritus status.

United KingdomIn the early 1970s, UK hydrogeology was becom-

ing exciting with a big emphasis on resources evaluation.

Most of the work was aquifer specific and engineeringinfluenced, which, together with Ken Rushton (then lec-turer in Civil Engineering at Birmingham), Denis Peach(then hydrogeologist with the Anglian Water Authority),and Ken Howard (then Research Associate in Hydro-geology at Birmingham), we were able to modify in asmall way, by adopting a system-orientated and holisticapproach and introducing more physical conceptualizationand targeted geophysical and hydrochemical analysis tosupport hydraulic modeling. The realization of the influ-ence of Quaternary units overlying major aquifers was animportant aspect of the work (Lloyd 1980).

Hydrochemistry has proved an important part of theresearch program at Birmingham over the years with arange of interests, including trace elements, environmentalisotopes, nitrates, and DNAPLs being studied. The successof much of this research was due to the dedication ofJohn Tellam (Lawrence et al. 1976; Lloyd et al. 1982;Moncaster et al. 2000). On the hydraulic side, researchtime was invested in developing deep aquifer testingtechniques using drill-stem testing with inflate systemsfor the assessment of shaft and mine inflows (Lloyd andJeffery 1983; Edwards and Lloyd 1992).

Arid ZonesThroughout my tenure, my personal research interest

remained arid zone hydrogeology (Lloyd 1986). I wasfortunate to be involved in a number of studies in theArabian Gulf area (Lloyd et al. 1987) and in the ArabianPeninsula and North Africa (Lloyd and Pim 1990; Lloyd1990).

From 1987 to 1998, I was involved in the hydrogeo-logical assessments of the Great Man-made River Project(GMRP) in Libya (Lloyd et al. 1997), which allowed usto examine major basin groundwater dynamics.

The main study was of the Muzuq-Ghadamis basincomprising an area of 864,000 km2. The principle aquiferconsists of Cambo-Ordovician sandstones. Modelingdemonstrated that the so-called “fossil gradients” in theselarge arid basins could be maintained over long periods bystorage depletion in the unconfined areas, in the absence ofrecharge. For the resource development to supply Tripoli,a wellfield of 440 wells was constructed with a designabstraction capacity of 2 × 106 m3/day. Conveyance isby a 800-km, 4-m diameter pipeline. The conveyance ofgroundwater from the Sahara to the coast, although expen-sive, allows development in a viable environment, whichis hardly the case in the desert. Ironically, studies showvast quantities of good quality and accessible groundwaterin sedimentary units under the northern Sahara; however,exploitation will probably only be realized by energy richcountries. The drought-ridden Sahel regional basins areyet to be adequately assessed.

Elsewhere major groundwater conveyance schemesare mooted, for example, in Jordan, Syria, and Yemen.Irrespective of current feasibility assessments, the long-term question of groundwater sustainability raises theissue of eventual population and infrastructure relocation

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to coastal areas where desalination can be augmented.Unfortunately, considerable over-exploitation of ground-water reserves is a modern feature of many arid areas.In parts of southern and eastern Africa particularly,hard rock aquifers are unable to adequately sustain therequired yields, although hydrogeological techniques areimproving (Lloyd 1999). With increasing population andimpoverishment, progressive migration from rural areasto major-river or coastal centers is proving an inevitableconsequence. Where money is available, supply shortagesare increasingly being met through the use of desalinatedsea water, notably in countries in the Arabian Peninsula.Interesting hydrogeological side impacts in some casesinclude rising urban groundwater levels with resultantflooding, and the generation of large quantities of wastewater that introduces aquifer storage of treated waters asan option.

Although, with careful management, groundwaterwill probably play an important socioeconomic role insemi-arid and arid regions for many years into the future,the overwhelming population growth seen in many ofthese areas, perhaps together with negative influences ofclimate change, will inevitably mean that reliance on thissupply source cannot be maintained at the current ratesand alternative expensive infrastructural changes will benecessary.

ReferencesEdwards, M.G., and J.W. Lloyd. 1992. Pumping test data inter-

pretation and drift inflow assessment by finite differenceradial modelling, Mine Water and the Environment 11,no. 1, Inst. Min. Met : 15–34.

Lawrence, A.R., J.W. Lloyd, and J.M. Marsh. 1976. Hydrochem-istry and groundwater mixing in part of the LincolnshireLimestone aquifer, England. Ground Water l4, 12–20.

Lloyd, J.W. 1999. Water Resources of Hard Rock Aquifers inArid and Semi-arid Zones, 284. Paris: UNESCO.

Lloyd, J.W. 1998. A changing approach to arid-zone ground-water resources in developing countries? Gambling withgroundwater. Proc. Joint Conf. Int. Ass. Hydrogeologistsand Amer. Inst. Hydrology , ed. J. Van Brahana, Y. Eckstein,

L. Ongley, R. Schneider, and J. Moore, 7–12. Las Vegas,USA.

Lloyd, J.W. 1990. Groundwater conditions and development inthe Eastern Sahara. Journal of Hydrology 119, 71–87.

Lloyd, J.W. 1986. A review of aridity and groundwater. Journalof Hydrological Processes 1, no. 1: 63–78.

Lloyd, J.W. 1980. The influence of pleistocene deposits on thehydrogeology of major British aquifers. Jl. Instn. of WaterEngrs and Sci 33, no. 4: 346–356.

Lloyd, J.W. 1974. Importance of water resources in thedevelopment of the Chilean copper industry. Transactionsof the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy 83, A63–A66.

Lloyd, J.W. 1969. The hydrogeology of the southern desert ofJordan. UNDP/FAO Pub. Tech. Rept. 1. Special Fund 212,120.

Lloyd, J.W., A. Binsariti, O. Salem, A. El Sunni, A.S. Kwairi,G. Pizzi, and H. Moorwood. 1997. The groundwaterassessment for the Western Jamahiriya System Wellfield,Libya, 258–269. Proc. 30th Int. Geol. Congr 22.

Lloyd, J.W., and R.H. Pim. 1990. The hydrogeology and ground-water resources development of the Cambro-Ordoviciansandstone aquifer in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Journal ofHydrology 121, 1–20.

Lloyd, J.W., J.G. Pike, B.L. Eccleston, and T.R.E. Chidley.1987. The hydrogeology of complex lens conditions inQatar. Journal of Hydrology 89, 239–258.

Lloyd, J.W., and R.I. Jeffery. 1983. Deep aquifer testing methodsand data interpretation. Zeitschrift Deutschen GeologischenGesellschaft Hydrogeologische Beitrage Nr. 8. Tubingen134, 871–884.

Lloyd, J.W., K.W.F. Howard, N. Pacey, and J.H. Tellam.1982. The value of iodide as a parameter in the chemicalcharacterisation of groundwaters. Journal of Hydrology 57,247–265.

Lloyd, J.W., D. Drennen, and B. Bennell. 1966. A groundwaterrecharge study in north-eastern Jordan. Proceedings ofInstitution of Civil Engineers 37, 701–721.

Moncaster, S.J., S.H. Bottrell, J.H. Tellam, J.W. Lloyd, andK.O. Konhauser. 2000. Migration and attenuation ofagrochemical pollutants: insights from isotopic analysis ongroundwater sulphate. Journal of Contaminant Hydrology43, 147–163.

Rasheeduddin, M., W.A. Aberrahman, and J.W. Lloyd. 2001.Management of groundwater resources in eastern SaudiArabia. Water Resources Development 17, no. 2: 185–210.

Rushton, K. 2009. Recollections of an inquiring engineer.Ground Water 47, no. 5: 745–749.

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