Groundwater News Roundup (Jan/Mar 2024)

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Here's a roundup of some of the main stories making news in the groundwater industry

Humans are depleting groundwater worldwide, but there are ways to replenish it

If you stand at practically any point on Earth, there is water moving through the ground beneath your feet. Groundwater provides about half of the world’s population with drinking water and nearly half of all water used to irrigate crops. It sustains rivers, lakes and wetlands during droughts.

Understanding the Value of Groundwater in a Changing Climate

Groundwater anchors water and food security in many regions, providing nearly half the volume of all water withdrawn for domestic use and about 43 percent of water use for irrigation. But as a common-pool resource with open access, groundwater has historically been undervalued, overexploited, and mismanaged.


THE HIDDEN WEALTH OF NATIONS : THE ECONOMICS OF GROUNDWATER IN TIMES OF CLIMATE CHANGE - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (ENGLISH)

At the global level, groundwater can buffer a third of the losses in economic growth caused by droughts and can protect cities against day-zero-type events. It is especially important for agriculture, where groundwater can reduce up to half of the losses in agricultural productivity caused by rainfall variability. By insulating farms and incomes from climate shocks, the insurance of groundwater translates into protection against malnutrition. 

Groundwater: How Scientists Study its Pollution and Sustainability

Groundwater accounts for around 30 per cent of the world’s freshwater, making it an important resource for addressing current global issues, such as world population growth, agricultural intensification and increased water use in different sectors like oil and gas extraction and mining, apparel and textile manufacturing and livestock farming. To protect groundwater from the threats of overextraction and pollution, and to manage it sustainably for the future, it is essential to understand where groundwater in specific locations is originating from, what its quality is and how quickly it replenishes. Scientists can perform this kind of research by analyzing the water ‘fingerprints’ called “isotopes”, which are variations of atoms in the water molecule.

Groundwater and a devastating fire, burnt plantations, an ailing wetland – a case study of application of good science and sound management

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Groundwater and a devastating fire, burnt plantations, an ailing wetland – a case study of application of good science and sound management

A devastating fire started on 7th June 2017 and swept through Sedgefield, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, leaving a path of destruction in its wake until it could be contained 4 days later. Damage amounted to billions of Rand and the entire community had to rise up and build their lives again.

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SRK – 25 years of engineering innovation in Pietermaritzburg

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SRK – 25 years of engineering innovation in Pietermaritzburg

Starting small as a “one-man show” in 1993, the world-class Pietermaritzburg office of engineers and scientists SRK Consulting has served its region and beyond with projects as diverse as drought relief, water reticulation, stormwater infrastructure, tailings dams, waste management and cemetery planning and developments.

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Red tape not insurmountable for new Western Cape water projects

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Red tape not insurmountable for new Western Cape water projects

As water conservation efforts aid Cape Town in surviving the worst drought in a century, there are an encouraging number of businesses and individuals who are pursuing initiatives to boost water supply. But what often obstructs them, according to SRK Consulting senior environmental consultant Scott Masson, is the necessary red tape around water provision.

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Rising above the silos

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Rising above the silos

If I think back to the many pump installation failures I’ve seen, the idea of "silo mentality" is a common thread running through most of them. Many installations fail due to poor or non-existent communication or lack of a teamwork ethic. In this article, you'll learn some strategies to break down organisational silos so that you, your team, and your organisation, can become more productive.

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