Effect analysis after prohibition of pumping groundwater in Su-Xi-Chang area of China

Over-exploitation of groundwater has existed before 2000 in Su-Xi-Chang area. From the start of 2000, the program about prohibition of pumping groundwater was implemented stage by stage by Jiangsu provincial government, and the prohibition program was first conducted in over-exploitation area. By the end of 2005, an overall prohibition of pumping groundwater in Su-Xi-Chang was realized and the velocity of land subsidence was slowing down and groundwater table was recovered gradually. According to systematic subsidence monitoring data and observed groundwater table data in the study area in the recent years, the change laws of groundwater table and land subsidence are analyzed before and after prohibition of pumping groundwater, which show there are the tight relationship between recovery of groundwater table and the decrease of land subsidence. Simultaneously, the geological environmental effects were evaluated after prohibition of pumping groundwater. Some countermeasures and proposals are provided for geological environmental protection in the study area.