Many coastlines feature a sediment transport in a dominant direction, possibly burying a traditional breakwater in sand in several years. The sandbar breakwater concept uses this sediment supply to its benefit to make the use of vast amounts of rocks abundant. During this research the morphological development of the worlds first sandbar breakwater built in Lekki, Nigeria, is analysed: The minimal amount of sand used for construction of the Lekki breakwater is placed such that the combination of the adaptation of the initial
profile and the natural supply of sediment results in a smooth coastline at the end of the first year. This development is in turn used to setup a calibrated model to study the influence of the wave climate on the development of the sandbar breakwater concept. The wave climate at Lekki is characterised by a single dominant wave direction (called unidirectional) and has a narrow direction bandwidth (yearly standard deviation of the wave direction is about 5 degrees). This ideal wave climate is altered to research the influence of the mean wave direction, directional variation and the sequence of waves (seasonality). The study showed the sandbar breakwater concept to be mainly influenced by the mean wave direction and to lesser extent by the directional variation and the seasonality. These results can be used to make a first assessment on the possibility of applying a sandbar breakwater for a wave climate somewhere around the world. ... Read more

Globally, growing demand for fresh water and declining water availability puts significant pressure on water resources. Due to rapid urbanization and insufficient water resource planning and waste water management, the Kathmandu Valley (Valley) is facing both a water quantity and quality crisis. Annually, groundwater extractions in the Valley significantly exceed recharge rates, resulting in a serious groundwater table declines. While streams often constitute an important linkage between surface water and groundwater systems, from both a quantity and quality perspective, understanding stream-aquifer interactions in the Valley are limited. To improve this understanding, we performed topographic surveys of water levels, and measured water quality, in streams and adjacent hand dug wells (shallow aquifer) in three watersheds (total of 16 stream-well pairs) during 2018 pre-monsoon (April and May) and eight watersheds (including the same three from pre-monsoon; total of 35 stream-well pairs) during 2018 post-monsoon (September and October). In pre-monsoon, we found 88 % of water levels in wells lower than adjacent streams with an average of -0.82 m, indicating a loss of stream water to the aquifer. However, in post-monsoon 69 % of wells had water levels higher than adjacent streams with an average water level difference of 0.44 m, indicating that monsoon rainfall recharged the shallow aquifer, causing streams to transition from losing to gaining. No recurring trend in water level difference was seen longitudinally from upstream to downstream. Our results indicate statistically significant correlations between electrical conductivity, ammonia, chloride, hardness, and alkalinity measured in streams and adjacent wells. Both stream and groundwater quality of adjacent wells depletes longitudinally from upstream to downstream. In order to prevent further deterioration of groundwater resources, stream-aquifer interactions should be taken into account for sustainable water resource management. Further research is essential to quantify the groundwater flow, and to investigate the long-term trends and reversibility of the problem. Our findings highlight the importance of managing streams and aquifers as a single integrated resource, from both a water quantity and quality perspective. For example, improper waste management in the Valley’s streams is having a clear and negative impact on the shallow aquifer. The population of Kathmandu will become increasingly dependent on the government for water supply, potentially increasing the cost of living. ... Read more