Groundwater aquifer management

Groundwater is one of the most valuable natural resources in the developing world. Generally cleaner and less susceptible to contamination than surface water, groundwater can be used for agriculture irrigation and drinking water with little or no treatment; however, because aquifers are often difficult to locate, groundwater accounts for only 19% of freshwater use globally. Inefficient irrigation and agricultural practices, soil salination, and bacteriological contamination continue to threaten the world’s already scarce groundwater supply, making groundwater aquifer management an urgent necessity. Effective groundwater aquifer management can have several different components including: providing incentives for users to conserve; improving monitoring systems through privatization; shifting water supply management systems to those based upon water demand; and defining and clarifying water rights.

Case Studies

Moroccans secure precious natural resource Fez, Morocco | March 3, 2004 Efforts to turn a tributary of Morocco’s Fez River from an acrid cesspool back into a thriving waterway have gained a key ally: the tanneries responsible for polluting the river. Learn more

Fortifying a nation’s water revolution

Helping the poor in Honduras

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