New Efforts to Raise Groundwater Awareness Underway

This fall groundwater is getting a surge of overdue attention from scientists and water professionals, who aim to raise awareness of this “invisible” resource. The Water Resources Research Center’s director, Sharon B. Megdal, has been involved in two separate but related activities aimed at promoting understanding and protection of groundwater.

The first began as working sessions at the International Association of Hydrogeologists International Symposium for Managed Aquifer Recharge in June 2016 in Mexico City, Mexico. The result was the “Call to Action: Sustainable Groundwater Management Policy Directives”, a document released in both English and Spanish in August 2016. Intended for use by decision-makers and the public, it was written to inform, engage, and educate stakeholders on “the critical need for addressing our shrinking groundwater resources now, before it is too late”. It contains key recommendations, including recognizing the value of groundwater around the globe and the need to manage the resource sustainably, halting depletion of aquifers, and promoting Managed Aquifer Recharge. It also emphasizes that collaboration with stakeholders and the community is vital.

The second set of activities realizes the aims of The Groundwater Visibility Initiative: Integrating Groundwater and Surface Water Management which was the name of a workshop held in Denver, Colorado, April 28, 2016. The workshop marked the starting point for the initiative intended to make groundwater more “visible” by raising awareness of its characteristics, governance, and importance as a source for water resource sustainability. A report from that workshop was released in August 2016, which lays out key findings and recommendations, along with a call to action for elevating the status of groundwater in the minds of professionals, policy makers, and the public. In addition, a group of authors, including Michael E. Campana, William M. Alley, Lisa Beutler, Sharon B. Megdal, and John C. Tracy, have worked together to produce two papers. The first was published in the International Association of Hydrogeologists - Fall 2016 Newsletter.  A second article was published in the September IMPACT, a journal of the American Water Resources Association.