Perils of Groundwater Pumping

Groundwater comprises about 1/3 of all available fresh water. Almost 20% of the world depend on it: arid lands are can be watered and transformed into productive farmlands [1]; it provides 50% of all drinking water; it’s used to mine useful ore (coal, copper, gold); and some countries depend almost entirely on groundwater (Bahrain, Denmark, Iceland, UAE …)

However, excessive “mining” of groundwater has caused problems, for example:

• rivers, lakes and wetlands dry up 
• the ground above sinks or collapses
• fish, wildlife, and trees to die 

[1]  National Groundwater Association’s article on Facts About Global Groundwater Usage. ~2016

• ~70% of ground water is used for agriculture
• about 38% of irrigated lands are equipped for irrigation with groundwater
• ~1/2 of all drinking water is from groundwater for about 1/4 of the world’s population 

The Perils of Groundwater Pumping, by Glennon, Issues in Science and Technology, vol 19, n° 1, Fall 2002