WORLD NEWS TODAY

Globally, Groundwater at Risk

December 2021

Wells around the world are at risk of going dry.

Human pumping of groundwater, at rates that exceed recharge, is depleting stocks of groundwater resources in many aquifers around the world. Demands for groundwater have been growing due to population growth, increasing agricultural production, and shifts in surface water availability.

Groundwater is an essential resource – supplying over 2 billion people with drinking water and much of the water used for irrigation. Recent studies indicate groundwater reserves in more than half of the world's largest aquifers have declined since 2003.  As groundwater levels decline, shallower wells may go dry. There may also be a reduction in water in streams, lakes, and springs. Groundwater depletion can also lead to land subsidence and deterioration of groundwater quality.