Groundwater Depletion

When we think of bodies of water, we usually think of lakes, rivers, or oceans. But what we often forget is groundwater, which we use everyday. In fact, 50% of people in the United States use groundwater as drinking water.

What is groundwater? Water that exists below the surface rather than on the surface is known as groundwater. For example, well water is groundwater. Groundwater forms in different ways. However, most of it is formed from precipitation. When it rains, some of the water seeps through the cracks and fractures in the ground. This water collects in spaces between rocks in the ground, forming an underground reservoir, known as an aquifer. Water from aquifers is used for drinking and farming, as it is clean and filtered.

Groundwater Pump

Groundwater is an extremely valuable human resource, especially in agriculture. It is one of the main sources of water for irrigation. In arid areas where surface water is scarce, groundwater is the only source of water for growing crops. However, in recent years, groundwater use has continually increased to the point where it is now being used faster than it can replenish. This means that the groundwater isn’t a sustainable source, especially if its use keeps increasing. With droughts also lowering groundwater recharge in western United States, water levels could deplete past the point of no return sooner than we think.

In order to stop overuse of groundwater, the production of certain crops will need to be limited. But the obvious problem with this is that sustainable groundwater practices would require 20-40% less crops being grown in areas with low groundwater levels, like western United States. Some areas would have to decrease their crop production by an enormous amount if sustainable groundwater practices are used. These areas are places with little rainfall such as Kansas and Nebraska. However, in midwest states and places with high levels of rain, production does not need to decrease as much to keep groundwater a sustainable source.

Groundwater is a vital source of water for the world, and if actions aren’t taken to decrease the use of it, then eventually the levels would decrease to the point where it causes major droughts in some areas. Although there are drawbacks to sustainable groundwater practices, such as less crops produced, there could be no crops produced at all if groundwater use increases.