WaterUnderground

groundwater depletion

Protecting springs from groundwater extraction: is a ‘drawdown trigger’ a sensible strategy?

Protecting springs from groundwater extraction: is a ‘drawdown trigger’ a sensible strategy?

By Matthew Currell – Senior Lecturer at RMIT University Springs, some of which have been flowing for hundreds of thousands of years, have been disappearing in Australia due to human water use over the past century. Following a hotly contested court case, Australia’s Environment Minister imposed a 20cm ‘drawdown limit’ at a set of springs, to protect …[Read More]

Human Drought?

Human Drought?

By Anne Van Loon – a water science lecturer at the University of Birmingham Recently I published a commentary in Nature Geoscience with the title ‘Drought in the Anthropocene’. In that commentary, my co-authors and I argued that in the current human-dominated world, we cannot study and manage natural drought processes separately from human influences on the water …[Read More]

Fantasy Bottled Water Brands of Tomorrow: Ogallala Water

Fantasy Bottled Water Brands of Tomorrow: Ogallala Water

We are peering into the not-so-distant future to imagine what the brand geniuses of the future will be serving up for discerning water consumers! The Brand: Ogallala Source: Great Plains Why? Deep down, you know you love it. Promotional Copy: Ogallala Water: GET PUMPED. Swill waters run deep so we go deep, deep, deep into …[Read More]

Is groundwater depletion keeping California fruit and veggies cheap during the severe drought?

Is groundwater depletion keeping California fruit and veggies cheap during the severe drought?

Food prices in the United States are increasing slightly but not as significantly as one might expect given the severe drought in California. Margret Munro, a science journalist with Postmedia, recently asked me a great question: is groundwater depletion keeping California fruit and veggies cheap during the severe drought? Following up on her article, here …[Read More]

One in four of world’s big cities water-stressed

One in four of world’s big cities water-stressed

From the McGill Newsroom As more people move to urban areas, cities around the world are experiencing increased water stress and looking for additional water supplies to support their continued grow. The first global database of urban water sources and stress, published online this week in Global Environmental Change, estimates that cities move 504 billion …[Read More]

Groundwater extraction can move mountains

Groundwater extraction can move mountains

Contributed by Pascal Audet (webpage or email) Next time you eat food grown in the San Joaquin Valley of California, think about this: the water used for growing them probably came from under ground. Farmers do not really have a choice because the amount of water from rain and snow can’t keep up with the …[Read More]