Groundwater: A Vital Resource Under Threat
Groundwater is a vital resource in danger
Groundwater is a vital source for our lives. They are not just reservoirs underfoot, but a lifeline for two billion people, an essential element for 44% of the world’s crops, and a shield that protects food security from climate fluctuations, and yet we treat them as if they are without end. Which threatens its depletion, and causes a global crisis in the future.
With the world’s population increasing to more than 8 billion people, and our consumption of the Earth’s resources exceeding their ability to renew; Groundwater management has become an inescapable existential issue; This is because life depends directly on the ecosystems fed by this water, the primary source of irrigation and drinking.
Given that the population is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050, the pressures on theseresources, which imposes on us the need to find effective solutions to enhance their sustainability; Therefore, in this article,Earth Guards highlights the importance ofgroundwater, and offers innovative solutions to ensure its sustainability.
Groundwater is a buried treasure
Fresh water constitutes only a small percentage of 2.5% of the total water on Earth, and the majority of this water is distributed in rivers and lakes. However, what we can benefit from directly represents less than 1% of this total fresh water. In contrast, the Earth maintains a huge reserve of groundwater that exceeds the volume of available surface water by 30 times.
It is estimated that if all this groundwater was extracted and distributed evenly over the surface of the earth, the water level would rise by about 180 meters, but the truth is thatMore than 80% of this water is located more than a kilometer underground; Which makes its extraction very expensive and non-renewable.
Groundwater is one of the basic pillars of agricultural irrigation, covering about 38% of irrigation needs globally. The Central Valley of California in the United States, for example, depends on groundwater at a rate ranging from 40% to 70% during periods of drought, and with the increasing dependence on this water in an unbalanced manner in recent decades – as the percentage of its global use in agriculture is estimated at about 70% – the urgent need to manage it responsibly emerges. To ensurefood security, and to adapt to rapid climate changes.
Environmental and Economic Impacts
Excessive extraction of groundwater without proper regulation can lead to…It has dire environmental and economic consequences, and the drying up of wells is one of the most prominent of these negative effects. About 1 in 30 wells dried up in the western United States, and in Tulare County, California – specifically – more than 1,300 wells on residential land dried up during the drought between 2012 and 2016; Which affected the lives of local residents and the sustainability of agricultural activity. Groundwater depletion also causes soil subsidence, a dangerous phenomenon that has caused the land surface in the California Valley to subside by more than 9 metres. Which led to massive damage to infrastructure, and caused losses estimated at more than 1.3 billion US dollars between 1955 and 1972.
Besides, groundwater pollution by salinity is a serious environmental problem, especially in coastal areas; Low freshwater levels cause salty seawater to seep inland, and this effect was clearly visible in southern CreteIn Greece, where groundwater levels have dropped by more than 30 metres; This allowed salt to penetrate up to 1,500 meters inland.
In the northern plains of China, the decline in groundwater levels at a rate ranging between 0.5 to 2 meters annually has affected grain production in the region, which is a major source of more than 40% of grain production in China. Together, these effects reveal the importance of preserving groundwater and managing it sustainably to avoid huge environmental and economic losses that are difficult to compensate for.
Towards sustainable groundwater management
To reduce groundwater depletion and mitigate its environmental and economic impacts, many countries are applying strict strategies to manage this vital resource. Among the basic strategies used in groundwater management is setting maximum limits for extraction; It has adopted a mandateTexas law imposes a cap of 550 million cubic meters per year on water extraction from the Edwards Basin; To be reduced to 493 million cubic meters after several years.
In France, the signing of the Groundwater Management Charter in the Bose region contributed to the protection of local swamps, and helped monitor water levels by achieving a precise balance between charging and extraction. That is, between the amount of water flowing into the aquifers as a result of rainwater leakage and the amounts of water that are withdrawn for use in drinking, irrigation, and industry.
To reduce the negative impact of excess extraction, the groundwater charge management system is one of the promising technical solutions to compensate for the extracted water and ensure the sustainability of water resources. The applications of this system have increased globally tenfold over the past fifty years, even though its contribution to the total extracted water does not exceed 2.4%. And it is implementedThis system is carried out in various ways, such as creating rainwater collection basins, so that the water gradually seeps into the underground layers, or by pumping treated water directly into the depths of the ground through designated wells. Which helps to compensate for the deficiency and reduce pressure on natural resources.
The importance of preserving groundwater is not limited only to environmental and economic aspects, but also includes social dimensions and food security. As water levels continue to fall, farmers – especially the poor – have difficulty digging deeper wells, which require greater costs and higher energy consumption. Which leads to a widening of the gap between the richest farmers and those with the least financial capacity.
In this context,Earth Guards believes that there is an urgent need to reconsider how to exploit this natural wealth through adopting thoughtful policies and investingIn technology and scientific research, and enhancing community awareness of the importance of preserving groundwater; The success of these strategies will contribute to protecting the environment, enhancing agricultural production, and ensuring water and food security for everyone living on this planet.
