Understanding Nottinghamshire’s groundwater microbial ecosystems  British Geological Survey

Groundwater in Taiwan under a changing environment  British Geological Survey

Groundwater resources  British Geological Survey

First national-scale groundwater model in Great Britain developed  British Geological Survey

Washington DC, June 14, 2024: A study by authors from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), published today in Nature Sustainability, reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on depleting groundwater systems. Although efforts to slow down groundwater depletion need to be urgently accelerated, this study indicates that such efforts – in the absence of other accompanying measures – would likely lead to significant food security impacts.

New study emphasizes tradeoffs between arresting groundwater depletion and food security

A new study published today in Nature Sustainability, reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on depleting groundwater systems.

The post New study emphasizes tradeoffs between arresting groundwater depletion and food security appeared first on IFPRI.

Changes in the distribution of groundwater around the planet between 1993 and 2010 were enough to make Earth's poles drift by 80 centimetres

A new initiative seeks to unite organizations to promote sustainable groundwater management.

The post Press Release: Uncovering and Confronting Global Groundwater Challenges first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The call to action highlighted in Nature this week cites recent scientific breakthroughs on
groundwater’s vital role in supporting rivers globally.

The post Press Release: Groundwater in Peril – IWMI joins 700+ scientists and practitioners in urgent call for action on global groundwater first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The five Partner States of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) have joined forces with IWMI to manage groundwater resources spanning an area larger than Austria and Germany.

The post New project brings five African countries together to jointly manage region’s groundwater first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

The meeting is part of a bottom-up approach to ensuring coherent policies on the use of water resources in agriculture.

The post IWMI conducts grassroots consultation on irrigated groundwater management in Lao PDR first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

IWMI in Pakistan organized a workshop to discuss the critical issue of water conservation and sustainable groundwater management in Balochistan.

The post Experts stress efficient groundwater use first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

IWMI plays a pivotal role in addressing groundwater management challenges across the Middle East.

The post Middle East’s groundwater shortage: Will it soon run out? first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Tushaar Shah, a Scientist Emeritus at IWMI, comments on the rapid spread of solar pumps among rural communities in many water-starved regions, including India.

The post How a solar revolution in farming is depleting world’s groundwater first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Tushaar Shah, a Scientist Emeritus at IWMI, comments on the rapid spread of solar pumps among rural communities in many water-starved regions, including India.

The post Solar-powered farming is quickly depleting the world’s groundwater supply first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

IWMI supports efforts at tank restoration and promotion to enhance groundwater availability by means of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR).

The post Can traditional tanks help Bengaluru revive its declining groundwater levels? first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

IWMI's Shreya Chakraborty and Tanmoy Bhaduri discuss groundwater use in Nepal and overlooked issues in policy frameworks.

The post Opinion: Nepal needs a comprehensive groundwater policy first appeared on International Water Management Institute (IWMI).

Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Impacts on groundwater quality from abandoned hydrocarbon wells  GOV.UK

Climate change and urbanisation 'threaten groundwater', say scientists  ENDS Report

A 1962 Thousand Oaks survey picture of H.L. Hall Water Well and Test Hole Drilling, and Aitken and Kidder Water Development, by Pat Allen. Water well drilling goes back a century in California, but records are scarce for public viewing.

Monday's news is nosy about your neighbor — and your neighbors' groundwater drilling.

• More great reporting from the Sacramento Bee on anachronistic problems of transparency in how we manage water in California. Even some well drillers now favor more transparency for groundwater "well logs":

In all other Western states, such records are accessible to whomever wants to see them – from university professors to civil engineers, real estate agents to the media. But in California, well logs are barred from public inspection by a 63-year-old law written to keep data gathered by well-drilling companies from falling into the hands of competitors. “The lack of information about well logs makes no sense, particularly as we are trying hard to manage a diminishing public trust resource,” said Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank in San Francisco. “This is another one of those anachronistic statutes that does not belong in a modern water management system,” Mount said. (Sacramento Bee)

• Nearly 90 percent of the $700 million in "emergency drought relief" money authorized by the governor a few months ago is yet to be spent. But, as our public radio colleague Ben Adler reports, that's not necessarily as bad as it sounds. Grants take time. (Capital Public Radio)
• The secret new trend in water district conservation isn't cops, it's guys who make "water-wise house calls":

One out of every four households has a leak of some sort, usually something as simple as a loose toilet flapper, [water district spokeswoman] Figueroa said. "Leaks are common," she added. "Don't be embarrassed." (SJ Mercury News)

• The New York Times reports on how Californians are tracking their neighbors' usage deep into the drought. Ian Lovett explores Twitter-based shower-shaming (a phenomenon this blog noticed some months ago), ratting your neighbor out for violating restrictions and other guilt-based behavioral nudges. About our region, he writes:

Most homes in Southern California have already been outfitted with efficient shower heads, toilets and garden hoses, making it harder for residents to significantly reduce their water consumption than it was during the last severe drought a quarter-century ago. (NYT)

And how has your community been affected by the drought? Share your story with a photo on Twitter or Instagram. Tag it #mydrought. For more details on our photo project, click here.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Organophosphates (OPs) used to protect materials from fire and in other industrial processes have affected the quality of groundwater, particularly in urban areas and near landfill sites, according to recent research.

Groundwater is the earth’s largest freshwater resource and is vital for irrigation and global food production. In dry periods farmers pump groundwater to water crops, this is already happening at an unsustainable level in many places — exceeding the rate at which rain and rivers can refill the groundwater stores. This study seeks to identify where groundwater pumping is affecting stream flows and estimates where and when environmentally critical stream flows — required to maintain healthy ecosystems — can no longer be sustained.

Underground water aquifers are a significant source of drinking water. In a recent study, French researchers found that pesticides applied to crops can take many years to sink down through the ground and reach groundwater. This means that they may still be entering aquifers, even after agricultural application has stopped.

Reservoirs of water stored under the earth’s surface, otherwise known as groundwater, are a valuable resource. However, using a footprinting method, a new global study has indicated that about 1.7 billion people live in areas where groundwater is being used more quickly than it can be replenished.

An earthquake that killed nine people in Lorca, Spain, last year could have been triggered by groundwater being drained from the area for use in irrigation, according to scientists. The study found that the ground moved in the same places as subsidence has been occurring since the 1960s, due to the extraction of groundwater.

Despite groundwater’s importance to ecosystems, little is known about its global distribution. Researchers have now developed a model to map groundwater, revealing that ecosystems covering 22-32% of the Earth’s surface rely on this important resource.

Around 20% of all species found in a Spanish coastal wetland could be affected by increasingly salty water as seawater intrudes into the groundwater system as a result of groundwater being withdrawn to irrigate crops. This is the conclusion of a recent study which used a Life Cycle Impact Assessment approach to characterise the ecological damage in the wetland as a result of changes in groundwater consumption.

Untreated wastewater from the baker’s yeast industry can be used to irrigate crops without negatively affecting the chemical quality of the groundwater beneath, recently published research concludes. Although the wastewater increased concentrations of some groundwater contaminants in an area with a high water table, these levels would not pose a risk to human health even if this water was used for drinking.

Contamination of drinking water in areas close to several fracking sites in the Marcellus and Barnett Shales, USA, is caused by structural problems leading to wells leaking natural gas into aquifers, a new study suggests. The researchers measured trace amounts of chemicals, called noble gases, which formed signatures of the sources of gas contamination in over 130 samples. These findings suggest that, rather than coming from natural sources, such contamination in the area of the investigation is an engineering problem to do with the wells themselves, the researchers say. They stress the importance of ensuring the structural integrity of the wells, which can be done in an affordable manner.

Microbes found in groundwater may be resilient to periods of drought. A new study measured the enzyme activity of microbes, which shows whether they are alive and active, in a groundwater well. No significant difference in enzyme activity was found between those microbes that had experienced drought for four months and those that had not.

Groundwater pumping and irrigation can disrupt natural atmospheric processes, affect the whole water cycle, and potentially worsen water shortages during heatwaves, a new study suggests. The findings contribute to our understanding of how to manage water resources under future climate change conditions. The study shows how some of the most intensively water managed areas of Europe — such as the Iberian Peninsula — could be affected by extraction of groundwater during years when conditions are especially hot and dry, potentially amplifying water scarcity in already-stressed regions.

While the ecological impact of shale gas exploration and extraction on groundwater has received considerable attention, the implications for surface water and terrestrial ecosystems is often overlooked, according to a new US study. Although more data are needed, preliminary results suggest that regulations based on proximity to surface water could be necessary to protect valuable ecosystems.

A recent study has investigated the effectiveness of the EU concentration limit for Plant Protection Products (i.e., agricultural pesticides) in protecting groundwater ecosystems. For the majority of pesticides, the standard of 0.1 micrograms per litre for each individual pesticide was found to be sufficient, but this may not be the case for some insecticides.

An overview of groundwater contaminants in Europe is provided by a recent study, which calls for more integrated monitoring using a range of indicators. Groundwater contamination presents serious health and environmental concerns.

The public places a high value on the use of scientific information, especially regarding climate change, in the management of groundwater resources, a case study in Finland indicates. This suggests that incorporating scientific research into management policies is likely to have the support of stakeholders in the region.

Over the past two decades, concern has grown globally about the occurrence of anthropogenic organic contaminants in the environment, such as substances used in pharmaceuticals, food production and manufacturing. Many of these compounds are not sufficiently monitored or regulated in groundwater — a critical water resource in Europe. A recent paper proposes an approach to developing the first voluntary Groundwater Watch List (GWWL): an initiative with which to identify, monitor, and characterise substances that have the greatest potential to pollute this water resource.

New low cost methods using bacteria to remove toxic metals from groundwater have been investigated using both actual contaminated groundwater and artificially controlled systems. Environmental conditions, such as changing levels of acidity or alkalinity, can have a significant effect on the removal of toxins, results show.

Scientists report that it could take 100 years for the world's groundwater supplies to respond to climate change, potentially leaving populations without water.

Drought-stricken Queensland farmers are worried about where their underground water is going as a new report questions the impact of a controversial coal mine.

Formed millions of years ago and hidden from sight, Australia's precious underground water reserves are becoming a new battleground in the fight for water.

A Victorian water authority bows to pressure and abandons plans to pump more groundwater from an area where it caused major environmental degradation.

Emails obtained under freedom of information reveal Adani demanded the names of all federal agency scientists reviewing its contentious groundwater plans so it could check if they were "anti-coal" activists.