Overdrafting

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This article is about groundwater extraction. For financial uses of the term, see Overdraft.

Overdrafting is the process of extracting groundwater beyond the safe yield or equilibrium yield of the aquifer.

Since every groundwater basin recharges at a different rate depending upon precipitation, vegetative cover and soil conservation practises, the quantity of groundwater that can be safely pumped varies greatly among regions of the world and even within provinces. Some aquifers require a very long time to recharge and thus the process of overdrafting can have consequences of effectively drying up certain sub-surface water supplies. Subsidence occurs when excessive groundwater is extracted from rocks that support more weight when saturated. This can lead to a capacity reduction in the aquifer.[1]

Effects on climate

Aquifer drawdown or overdrafting and the pumping of fossil water may be a contributing factor to sea-level rise.[2] By increasing the amount of moisture available to fall as precipitation, severe weather events are more likely to occur. To some extent moisture in the atmosphere accelerates the probability of a global warming event. The correlation coefficient is not yet scientifically determined.

Accelerated decline in subterranean reservoirs

According to a 2013 report by research hydrologist, Leonard F. Konikow, [3]at the United States Geological Survey (USGC), the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer between 2001–2008, inclusive, is about 32 percent of the cumulative depletion during the entire 20th century (Konikow 2013:22)."[3] In the United States, the biggest users of water from aquifers include agricultural irrigation and oil and coal extraction.[4]"Cumulative total groundwater depletion in the United States accelerated in the late 1940s and continued at an almost steady linear rate through the end of the century. In addition to widely recognized environmental consequences, groundwater depletion also adversely impacts the long-term sustainability of groundwater supplies to help meet the Nation’s water needs."[3]

Socio-economic effects

Scores of countries are overpumping aquifers as they struggle to satisfy their growing water needs, including each of the big three grain producers—China, India, and the United States. These three, along with a number of other countries where water tables are falling, are home to more than half the world’s people.[5]

Water is intrinsic to growth, and overdraft limits its available supply. According to Liebig's law of the minimum, growth is therefore impeded.[6] Deeper wells must be drilled as the water table drops, which can become expensive. In addition, the energy needed to extract a given volume of water increases with the amount the aquifer has been depleted. Saltwater intrusion is another consequence of overdrafting, leading to a reduction in water quality.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Land subsidence". The USGS Water Science School. United States Geological Survey. 2013-04-06. 
  2. ↑ "Rising sea levels attributed to global groundwater extraction". University of Utrecht. Retrieved February 8, 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Konikow, Leonard F. (PDF). Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900–2008) (Report). Scientific Investigations Report. Reston, Virginia: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 63. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2013/5079/SIR2013-5079.pdf.
  4. ↑ Zabarenko, Deborah (20 May 2013). "Drop in U.S. underground water levels has accelerated: USGS". Washington, DC: Reuters. 
  5. ↑ Brown, Lester (2013-03-28). "Aquifer Depletion". Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 2013-04-06. 
  6. ↑ Water and crop yield
  7. ↑ "Groundwater depletion". The USGS Water Science School. United States Geological Survey. 2013-04-06. 

External links

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