Groundwater Resources: Past, Present and Future

Groundwater accounts for ~97% of Earth’s liquid freshwater, and we need to quantify it at a regional-level more effectively. Groundwater fits within the context of other environmental cycles and human systems, and this helps to put an ‘invisible’ resource into sharper focus (in sight and mind) for policy makers and managers. It is vital we are able to assess whether a groundwater source is renewable and monitor its quality. We particularly need to: understand the impact of emerging pollutants such as endocrine-disrupting substances; develop management approaches to aquifer recharge and reuse of treated wastewater in urban environments, including managed aquifer recharge, and explore the potential of groundwater resources within continental shelves in an environmentally sensitive manner. The effective communication of scientific understanding is at the centre of evidence-based policy and management to maintain groundwater sustainability (fluxes and quality) and to protect the range of in situ services it provides.