Latest news with #aquifers
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient groundwater records reveal worrying forecast for US Southwest
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Aquifers in the U.S. Southwest will be more badly affected by climate change than those farther north, a new study suggests. Climate models predict that a warmer climate will lead to less rainfall in regions like Southern California and wetter weather in the Pacific Northwest. But what could really spell trouble for the Southwest is that groundwater pools there are more sensitive to climate shifts than pools farther north, researchers said. Modern aquifer records are poor indicators of what happens when Earth gets warmer, because humans have pumped out huge amounts of groundwater. So instead scientists looked at records from the past, with the end of the last ice age (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) revealing some of the changes that might be coming our way. "The last ice age gives us a window to explore groundwater dynamics that might be quite relevant to future change," study lead author Alan Seltzer, an associate scientist specializing in marine chemistry and geochemistry at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said in a statement. Researchers looked at the period between 11,000 and 20,000 years ago, when ice sheets retreated from North America and storms moved northward. Before this period, what is now the U.S. Southwest received abundant rainfall, while the present-day Pacific Northwest was relatively dry. But by the start of the Holocene — the current geological epoch — the climate had shifted to resemble today's patterns, with a wet Northwest and a drier Southwest. Related: Groundwater in the Colorado River basin won't run out — but eventually we won't be able to get at it, scientists warn For the new study, Seltzer and his colleagues analyzed ancient groundwater from the Palouse basin aquifer, which sits beneath Washington and Idaho. Ancient groundwater holds geochemical clues, such as dissolved noble gases, that can reveal past changes in water table depth. The researchers measured different versions, or isotopes, of the noble gases krypton and xenon from 17 wells in the aquifer, which enabled them to reconstruct water table depths over 9,000 years of global warming. The scientists then compared these records with records from the San Diego aquifer in Southern California that Seltzer and other researchers had previously compiled in a 2019 study. The researchers revealed their findings in a new study published June 11 in the journal Science Advances. In response to global warming and drier conditions at the end of the last ice age, water table levels in Southwestern aquifers dropped sharply. In contrast, water table levels in the Pacific Northwest stayed surprisingly stable, despite an increase in rainfall, according to the new study. The reason for this may be that groundwater systems with a shallow water table — where water sits nearer the surface, such as the Palouse basin — are able to transfer more water to neighboring soils than systems with a deep water table, so they remain relatively stable. Surface soils are less compact, and can therefore hold more water than deeper soils. RELATED STORIES —1.2 billion-year-old groundwater is some of the oldest on Earth —6 million-year-old 'fossil groundwater pool' discovered deep beneath Sicilian mountains —'Precipitation, the source of all fresh water, can no longer be relied upon': Global water cycle pushed out of balance 'for 1st time in human history' Systems with a deep water table, such as the San Diego aquifer, are more sensitive to changes in rainfall. Without precipitation, these aquifers rapidly dry out, according to the study. To confirm their findings, the researchers compared the ancient groundwater data from the aquifers to groundwater processes in an Earth system computer model. "The model gave almost exactly the same answer as the isotope measurements," Seltzer said. Overall, the research suggests that aquifers are more vulnerable to climate change in the Southwest, which is predicted to get drier over the coming decades, than in the Pacific Northwest. Millions of people in the Southwest depend on groundwater to live — and "these results should help direct research and adaptation efforts" to combat water insecurity, study co-author Kris Karnauskas, a climate scientist and associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in the statement.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arkansas groundwater level ‘unsustainable' in latest government report
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The latest report from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture presents some positive news alongside less encouraging findings in its 2024 Groundwater Levels and Trends report. The report stated that groundwater withdrawal in eastern and southern Arkansas 'remains unsustainable.' The study recommends continued monitoring, data collection, conservation efforts and water use planning to reverse the trend. Drainage issues at Dickey-Stephens Park sparks funding debate ahead of North Little Rock City Council meeting Some positive news came regarding the condition of two aquifers in the state: The Alluvial, located along the state's eastern border, and the Sparta, which covers the south and east of the state. The Alluvial aquifer levels declined over the past year and the past five years but have shown a 'slight' rebound over the past decade, according to the study's authors. Sparta is recovering in areas of historical decline, especially in Union and Jefferson County, the report stated. Inaugural Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit underway in Little Rock Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward stated that maintaining groundwater levels is crucial in the state. 'Approximately 71% of Arkansas's water use is from groundwater, and water demand for crop irrigation is approximately 80% of the total statewide water demand,' Ward said. 'Adequate and sustainable groundwater is critical not only to our agriculture industry but also to other industries and our ability to provide safe and reliable drinking water to all Arkansans,' Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders orders update to Arkansas Water Plan, first since 2014 Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Executive Order 23-27 in August 2023, requiring a comprehensive update of the state's water plan. Phase I of the update was completed in 2024 as goals were identified. Phase II is scheduled for completion in 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
07-06-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Kabul at risk of becoming first modern city to run out of water, report warns
Kabul could become the first modern city to completely run out of water, experts have warned. Water levels within Kabul's aquifers have dropped by up to 30 metres over the past decade owing to rapid urbanisation and climate breakdown, according to a report by the NGO Mercy Corps. Meanwhile, almost half of the city's boreholes – the primary source of drinking water for Kabul residents – have dried out. Water extraction currently exceeds the natural recharge rate by 44m cubic metres each year. If these trends continue, all of Kabul's aquifers will run dry as early as 2030, posing an existential threat to the city's seven million inhabitants. 'There should be a committed effort to document this better and to draw international attention to the need to address the crisis,' said Mercy Corps Afghanistan country director, Dayne Curry. 'No water means people leave their communities, so for the international community to not address the water needs of Afghanistan will only result in more migration and more hardship for the Afghan people.' The report also highlights water contamination as another widespread challenge. Up to 80% of Kabul's groundwater is deemed unsafe, with high levels of sewage, salinity and arsenic. Water access has become a daily battle for people in Kabul. Some households spend up to 30% of their income on water, and more than two-thirds have incurred water-related debt. 'Afghanistan is facing a lot of problems, but this water scarcity is one of the hardest,' said Nazifa, a teacher living in the Khair Khana neighbourhood of Kabul. 'Every household is facing difficulty, especially those with low income. Adequate, good quality well water just doesn't exist.' Some private companies are capitalising on the crisis by actively digging new wells and extracting large amounts of public groundwater, then selling it back to city's residents at inflated prices. 'We used to pay 500 afghanis (£5.30) every 10 days to fill our cans from the water tankers. Now, that same amount of water costs us 1,000 afghanis,' said Nazifa. 'The situation has been getting worse over the past two weeks. We are afraid it will get even more expensive.' Kabul's sevenfold growth from less than 1 million people in 2001 has drastically transformed water demands. A lack of centralised governance and regulation has also perpetuated the problem over the decades. In early 2025, the UN's office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs announced that its partners had received just $8.4m (£6.2m) of the $264m required to implement planned water and sanitation programming in Afghanistan. A further $3bn in international water and sanitation funding has been frozen since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021. The US's recent move to cut more than 80% of its USAID funding has compounded the crisis. 'Everything is so aid-dependent,' said Curry. 'We can throw millions of dollars at short-term water fixes and say we've addressed the need, but that need will continue until there's better investment for longer-term solutions. And that's where foreign governments are stopping short at this point due to political dynamics.' Nazifa said: 'Water is a human right and natural resource of Afghanistan. It is not a political issue. My heart bleeds when I look at the flowers and fruit trees in the garden, all drying up. But what can we do? We are currently living in a military state, so we can't exactly go to the government to report the issue.' The Panjshir River pipeline is one project which, if completed, could alleviate the city's over-reliance on groundwater and supply 2 million residents with potable water. The design phases for this were completed in late 2024 and are awaiting budget approval, with the government seeking additional investors to supplement the $170m cost. 'We don't have time to sit around waiting for budgets. We are caught in a storm from which there will be no return if we don't act immediately,' said Dr Najibullah Sadid, a senior researcher on water resource management and member of the Afghan Water and Environment Professionals Network. 'Those in Kabul are in a situation where they have to decide between food or water. And yet, the locals we've spoken to are still willing to invest what little they have towards a sustainable solution. Whichever project will bring the most immediate impact is the priority. We just need to start somewhere.'
