New York Times - America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow
“The Times analyzed water levels reported at tens of thousands of sites, revealing a crisis that threatens American prosperity.
Nearly half the sites have declined significantly over the past 40 years as more water has been pumped out than nature can replenish.
In the past decade, four of every 10 sites hit all-time lows. And last year was the worst yet.”
Click here to read the article on The New York Times
A terrific article in the New York Times highlights the dangers of groundwater over-abstraction - the first “in a series on the causes and consequences of disappearing water”, and we’re excited to see the next entries.
The article is based on a comprehensive analysis of groundwater level data sourced from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System, the U.S.G.S. National Groundwater Monitoring Network and 28 states and regional authorities, and the findings indicate that there is a national groundwater crisis (a little-acknowledged crisis that has been growing in severity for some time).
As groundwater depletion intensifies in several key regions, the consequences of this unsustainable practice are becoming more and more acute. Once again, the article provides an excellent overview of the knock-on effects: part of the U.S. are running out of drinking water, agricultural areas with declining crop yields, subsidence causing infrastructure damage, accelerating saltwater intrusion in coastal areas, etc.…
While this study is confined to the U.S.A., similar trends are found across Canada. And while it’s possible to change our role in groundwater depletion by limiting pumping, there is little that we can do to mitigate the long-term trends in groundwater replenishment due to climate change. And this is where the Canada1Water project comes into play: by understanding how climate change will impact groundwater and surface water resources across continental Canada, we will be better prepared to meet the uncertain future - armed with knowledge of what to expect in the coming decades.
Click here to read the article on The New York Times
Groundwater level trends across America. Colors depict the median trend for each site over the previous 20 years. Number of sites meeting requirements fluctuates.
“Climate change is amplifying the problem.
Global warming is shrinking the snowpack that feeds rivers, increasing the reliance on groundwater to sustain communities, lawns and crops, even as rising temperatures mean that plants need more water. A warmer world also causes more surface water to evaporate, leaving less to seep through the ground to replenish overstressed aquifers.
It adds up to what might be called a climate trap. As rising temperatures shrink rivers in much of the country, farmers and towns have an incentive to pump more groundwater to make up the difference.”