❝An international team of hydrologists has found that much of the Earth’s groundwater isn’t renewable within a human lifetime after mapping out the important resource…❞
❝“The goal of this study was to calculate, for one of the first times, how much groundwater we have on this planet,” said Scott Jasechko, an assistant professor in the U of C’s department of geography who co-authored the study. “This is water that is held within pore spaces in rock and soils underneath our feet.
❝“Of all of the fresh and unfrozen water on this planet, about 99 per cent is groundwater.”…❞
❝Although the volume is immense, Jasechko said only a small, finite fraction of the resource is being replenished.
The study showed that six per cent of water in the uppermost portion of the Earth’s landmass is renewable within a human lifetime or 50 years.❞
❝The research comes as the global demand for water grows, particularly with climate change.
❝Jasechko said it provides important information for water managers and policy developers, as well as scientists, to manage groundwater resources in a more sustainable way…❞
❝Groundwater is an important resource, with about two billion people worldwide relying on it for drinking water. About 40 per cent of irrigation used for food production uses groundwater, said Jasechko.
❝It also supplies water and nutrients sustaining aquatic ecosystems in lakes and rivers.❞
Important point to make. As technology empowers water decisions ranging from re-ruse, recycling, desalination – there shouldn’t be any reason to short the husbanding of available groundwater. The expense of doing so – even as the economics of scale add to the ease of alternative means of providing water – still makes sensible use reasonable.