Groundwater Wells are Drying Up

The  April 23, 2021 issue of Science Magazine showed up in my mailbox over the weekend. I was excited to see that the mainstream of science has finally recognized the importance and the building crisis in groundwater! The cover  (as clipped below) was a picture of an agricultural water well in India and a barren and dry land. The title of the issue was “DRY WELLS” with a subtitle “Falling groundwater levels threaten wells globally.” There are two articles in this issue addressing the building groundwater crisis and both are very worthwhile reading -free access is available through the public library. 

“The hidden crisis beneath our feet.” By James S.Famiglietti and Grant Ferguson; Science 23 April 2020; pages 344-345.

“Global groundwater wells at risk of running dry.” By ScottJasechko and Debra Perrone; Science 23 April 2021; pages 418-421.

I have been following the work of Dr. Famiglietti’s since his NASA days. Dr.  Famiglietti is a hydrologist and Executive Director of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. He holds the Canada 150 Research Chair in Hydrology and Remote Sensing. Before moving to Canada, Dr. Famiglietti served for four years as Senior Water Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. Before that he was on the faculties of the University of California, Irvine and the University of Texas at Austin where he and Dr. Matt Rodell developed the methods of using the GRACE satellite data to measure changes in groundwater storage.

Rodell, M., and J. S. Famiglietti. 2002. "The potential for satellite-based monitoring of groundwater storage changes using GRACE: The High Plains aquifer, central U.S." J. Hydrology, 263: 245-256.

Below are quoted and paraphrased some of the key points made by Drs. Jay Famiglietti and Grant Ferguson and Drs. Scott Jasechko and Debra Perrone in last weeks Science Magazine.

Water is at the core of a sustainable earth and is critical not only for economic development and healthy ecosystems, but for human survival itself. Ninety-six percent of the earth’s non-frozen freshwater is groundwater, fresh water (from rain or melting ice and snow) that soaks into the soil and is stored in the tiny spaces between rocks and particles of soil. Groundwater is the primary water source for billions of people and nearly half of irrigated agriculture. Groundwater is also an essential component of the baseflow of our rivers, streams and creeks. Because groundwater is unseen, mankind has been using it unsustainably. More than half of the world’s major aquifers are being depleted. 

Using the well construction data for 39 million groundwater wells in 40 different countries along with available monitoring data Drs. Jasechko and Perrone found that from India to the United States groundwater wells are already running dry from groundwater level declines. Because they are only a few meters below the water table, from 6%-20% of groundwater wells are in danger of running dry from declining groundwater levels, seasonality and drawdown. Though, newer wells tend to be deeper than older wells, it provides only short-term reprieve from declining water levels and increases the cost to construct and operate a well. 

Groundwater depletion is projected to continue in the areas where it is already occurring and expand into new areas not yet experiencing depletion. Millions of wells are at risk of running dry. Despite this not all areas and countries are engaged in long term groundwater monitoring. Here in Prince William County, Virginia we do not have a groundwater monitoring program. There is an opportunity right now with the county awash in stimulus money to establish a groundwater monitoring network within the county to develop the relationship to land use, weather and water use to sustainable water.

As the authors point out, existing groundwater wells are vulnerable to groundwater depletion because many wells are not much deeper than the local water table, making them likely to run dry with even modest declines in groundwater levels. Maintaining the water level above the well pump intake is critical to sustainable water use but has been ignored in favor of recording recharge rates in our own well completion reports. Predicting changes to water level requires that measurements be taken and the hydraulic properties of the subsurface be studied.  Drs. Famiglietti and Ferguson point out to ensure that groundwater remains a reliable component of water supplies new networks must be fostered to raise awareness of the urgency of the situation and encourage and coordinate stakeholder participation and help our local and state governments build the political will to protect groundwater as a key element of water security and sustainability.