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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Review of world water resources    
      
     Date:   
         March 15, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Texas at Austin   
     Summary:   
         A recent review study provides an overview of the planet's   
         freshwater supplies and strategies for sustainably managing them.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A recent review study led by The University of Texas at Austin provides   
   an overview of the planet's freshwater supplies and strategies for   
   sustainably managing them.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Published in Nature ReviewsEarth & Environment, the study highlights the   
   connections between surface and groundwater and calls for diversified   
   strategies for managing them both.   
      
   "I like to emphasize a lot of solutions and how they can be optimized,"   
   said lead author Bridget Scanlon, a senior research scientist at the   
   UT Bureau of Economic Geology, a research unit of the Jackson School   
   of Geosciences.   
      
   The study draws on data from satellites, climate models, monitoring   
   networks and almost 200 scientific papers to analyze the Earth's water   
   supply, how it's changing in different regions and what's driving these   
   changes. The study's co- authors include almost two dozen water experts   
   from around the world.   
      
   According to the research, humans primarily rely on surface   
   water. Globally, it accounts for 75% of irrigation and 83% of municipal   
   and industrial supply annually. However, what we see at the surface is   
   tightly connected to groundwater flow. In the United States, about 50%   
   of annual streamflow starts as groundwater. And globally, surface water   
   that seeps into the ground accounts for about 30% of annual groundwater   
   supplies.   
      
   Human intervention can strongly influence the exchange in water between   
   surface and groundwater sources. About 85% of groundwater pumped by   
   humans in the U.S.   
      
   is considered "captured"from surface water, which leads to declines in   
   streamflow. At the same time, irrigation sourced from surface water can   
   increase groundwater recharge as irrigated water seeps through the ground   
   back to aquifers.   
      
   The study cites numerous examples of human activity affecting this flux   
   between surface water and groundwater supplies. For example, surface   
   water irrigation recharged aquifers in the early to mid-1900s in the   
   Northwestern U.S.' Columbia Plateau and Snake River Plain, while global   
   models show that groundwater pumping has greatly reduced the volume of   
   water going to streams, with 15-21% of global watersheds at risk because   
   of the reduced flows.   
      
   Despite their inherent connection, surface water and groundwater are   
   frequently regulated and managed as separate resources. According to   
   the researchers, future water resilience depends on recognizing that   
   surface water and groundwater behave as a single resource -- and acting   
   on that knowledge.   
      
   The study describes different ways for managing water through both natural   
   and engineered solutions that can help increase water supplies, reduce   
   demand, store water and transport it. According to Scanlon, one of the   
   best ways to adapt to increasing climate extremes is storing water during   
   wet times and drawing on it in times of drought.   
      
   "We have droughts and we have floods," she said. "We are trying to   
   manage those extremes and a way to do that is to store water."  Annually,   
   the world stores about 7,000-8,300 cubic kilometers, or about two Lake   
   Michigan's worth of water, in surface reservoirs. The researchers   
   said it was important to continue developing groundwater supplies,   
   too, because they are more resilient than surface reservoirs during   
   long-term droughts. Managed aquifer recharge can help cities build up   
   their groundwater supplies by collecting surface water and diverting it   
   underground into aquifers. Globally, about 10,000 cubic kilometers of   
   water is stored this way each year.   
      
   "This type of integrated research, linking surface and groundwater,   
   is exactly what is needed to develop lasting solutions to issues such   
   as fresh water use," said Scott Tinker, the director of the Bureau   
   of Economic Geology. "Too often studies are done in isolation, and   
   well-intended applications have unintended outcomes."  Matthew Rodell,   
   a hydrologist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center who was not involved   
   in the study, said that the paper offers a useful compendium of research   
   results and potential solutions for managing water supplies while also   
   keeping water quality -- a characteristic that's more difficult to   
   monitor remotely than quantity -- in mind.   
      
   "Water quality is one of the next targets in terms of being able to manage   
   water resources," he said. "I like that this was incorporated as well."   
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   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Texas_at_Austin. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Bridget R. Scanlon, Sarah Fakhreddine, Ashraf Rateb, Inge de   
      Graaf, Jay   
         Famiglietti, Tom Gleeson, R. Quentin Grafton, Esteban Jobbagy, Seifu   
         Kebede, Seshagiri Rao Kolusu, Leonard F. Konikow, Di Long, Mesfin   
         Mekonnen, Hannes Mueller Schmied, Abhijit Mukherjee, Alan MacDonald,   
         Robert C. Reedy, Mohammad Shamsudduha, Craig T. Simmons, Alex Sun,   
         Richard G. Taylor, Karen G. Villholth, Charles J. Vo"ro"smarty,   
         Chunmiao Zheng. Global water resources and the role of groundwater   
         in a resilient water future. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment,   
         2023; 4 (2): 87 DOI: 10.1038/s43017-022-00378-6   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230315143846.htm   
      
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