Aquifer Depletion

Water Resources-Aquifer Depletion

November 18, 2007

Jennifer Brinningstaull

Active Student

Axia College University of Phoenix

If given the opportunity to research any of the resource problems, I would choose to research the water resources problems. The reason for this is because the world can not exist without water. Every living thing depends on water and would not survive without it. Of all the water resource problems that we currently have, I believe that the one most important to solve would be the depletion of aquifer supplies.

An aquifer is the body of sand that is able to store or produce large amounts of water. It can be anywhere from a few feet deep to a few hundred feet deep. From a birds eye view it can spread as far as a few miles. There are two kinds of aquifers, confined and unconfined. A confined aquifer is surrounded by what is called an aquitard, rock formations that do not allow fluid to leak through. "An unconfined aquifer is one that is hydraulically open or connected to the surface." (World of Earth Science, 2005-2006)

Aquifer depletions are a rising issue for today's economy. It is spreading all over the world and is causing problems over the world. Aquifer depletion is when people use lakes and rivers for a water source at such a quick pace that it has no time to naturally replenish itself. Most do not notice a well going dry until it is too late. The reason for this depletion is because the demand for water supply has tripled over the last 25 years. Droughts certainly do not help the problem at hand.

Some of the negative effects of depletion are dry wells, salt water intrusion, poor water quality, and rising costs of pumping. Dry wells are caused from being drawn from too much without allowing the well to naturally replenish itself. Low water tables also factor in with dry wells. Salt water intrusion is caused from having a well too close to where there is salt water. This can in turn affect the quality of the water. Poor quality water is also affected by the ground pollution of waste, pesticides, and farming. The cost of pumping water will go up if the resources are close to drying up or if some already have. Therefore, the cost of water will rise as well.

The chart below is a chart of a well in Cook County, Georgia. It shows the effects of overdrawing a well over a period of 39 years. The chart shows the water levels and how low they became over the years. (Chart is from Perlman of USGS, 2005)

All over the world countries and states are facing the problem of water depletion. "Seventy percent of world water use, including all the water diverted from rivers and pumped from underground, is used for irrigation, 20 percent is used by industry, and 10 percent goes to residences." (Brown, L. 2002) The water depletion can cause many problems ranging from grain and food shortages to the death of animals that depend on these water sources. The two kinds of aquifers are replenishable and nonreplenishable. "Scores of countries are over pumping aquifers as they struggle to satisfy their growing water needs, including each of the big three grain producers-China, India, and the United States." (Brown, L. 2007)

Action Items Action Steps Timeline

Research the cause and effects of aquifer depletion Review and document any information from web sites and journals. Collect information on aquifer depletion and the main areas of concern.

Conduct and document interviews with other researchers. Contact outside sources and get their thoughts and opinions on the matter. Month 1-2

Create an educational program on aquifer depletion and its effects. Create a program that could help to solve the problem. Have a presentation to show others why this problem is serious and to show possible choices on how to help reduce aquifer depletion. Show how it affects us in the future. Month 3

Schedule presentation day and time for locals. Possibly non-local as well. Create a monthly meeting for the locals to show the cause and effects and the results of present research.

Schedule future meetings to keep everyone up to date on progress.

Work with others to create a plan to enforce to help reduce aquifer depletion. Month 4-5

Research other main areas of concern and devise a plan of action for those areas as well. Contact other main areas of concern to discuss ideas and plans of action to help solve problems in those areas as well. If they are not too local, send them previous presentations and possible solutions to the problem. Schedule time to meet in person to work together on ideas and plans of action. Month 6-8

The table above is a sustainment plan to organize possibilities on how to solve the problem of aquifer depletion. This kind of a problem will not have an immediate solution. It will take time, patience, research, and hours of hard work in order to solve or at least minimize the current problems. There are several different ideas that can be put to use on how to preserve the water and minimize the waste.

Just a few of these ideas are:

* Reduce usage of water if not needed.

* Create containers to catch and hold rain fall.

* Create containers to catch snow to be melted.

* Create tools to measure the current levels of water resources.

These are just a few possibilities that could work. It will take time and research and resources in order to put these ideas into plans of action. The first idea, reducing usage of water if not needed, is possible for everyone to do. How many people use water and waste it when not necessary? Running the shower too long, leaving water running when doing dishes, watering the lawn so it looks nicer. These are all things that people can minimize right from their own home.