2021

Groundwater Talks webinars

The Groundwater Around the World initiative is a series of content that, every two months, highlights a country and its groundwater. Learn about hydrogeology all around the world with these webinars!

Do you know about the importance of environmental flows? don't miss this paper that discusses the collaborative development of the California Environmental Flows Framework

For decades, river scientists have been working to understand the quantity, quality, and timing of flows needed to sustain healthy river ecosystems. This work has resulted in the development of approaches for defining environmental flows that recognize the importance of natural flow variability and ecosystem functions (Poff et al., 2010; Richter et al., 2012; Horne et al., 2017).

Don't miss the TxMAP project, a new way to map with conservation data for organizations, legislative staff, city planners, natural resource professionals, and private landowners.

When we collect data, we’re gifted a multidimensional story, and it’s up to the scientist in each of us to navigate the information one hypothesis at a time until we find relationships that solve complex natural resource issues. Like a trusty map from the glovebox with a pocket compass folded in the crease, the data reveals the best routes and the dead ends to avoid, but ultimately asks us to fuel our discoveries with creative inquisition.

Interested in transboundary water cooperation? don't miss the lessons from World Bank engagements

How do we know when international cooperation is successful? A senior U.N. official once suggested that cooperation is like elephants mating: it all takes place at a very high level, there is a lot of noise, and it takes years to know the result. While this might be just a cynical joke, it contains a grain of truth: the success of international cooperation is often difficult to measure because results are often intangible and materialize over very long-time scales. And while measuring successful cooperation might sound like academic musing, it is a practical question for governments today given the centrality of cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Supporting transboundary water cooperation: Learning from water-stressed basins in West Africa

Effective and collaborative management of water resources across borders can enable peace, food security and resilience. As water scarcity and water stress are growing worldwide, most river basin organisations seem to acknowledge the need for transboundary water cooperation. Yet the agreements reached therein suffer from persistent under-implementation.

"Don't miss this case study of that presents a comprehensive overview of the Hueco Bolson aquifer modeling history and makes a case for future modeling and binational engagement efforts."

The Hueco Bolson aquifer is a binational aquifer shared by the United States of America (USA) and Mexico that is strongly interconnected with the transboundary river, Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. Limited recharge, increasing urbanization, and intensified agriculture have resulted in the over-drafting of groundwater resources and stressed the aquifer, threatening its sustainability if mitigation actions are not taken soon.

Interested in hydro-diplomacy? Don't miss this podcast entitled "EU’s hydro-diplomacy in a water-stressed world"

Stimson Center’s Farwa Aamer sits down with Ambassador Tanja Miskova and Ms. Alina Belskaia to discuss how the KAS-Stimson pre-conference study highlights water security challenges in the Himalayan region, the Middle East & North Africa, and Central Asia. The guests will also assess how the EU is working to advance sustainable development and expand diplomatic initiatives on transboundary water governance.

For the first time, scientists have mapped aquifers that straddle the U.S.-Mexico border!

Last year, amid widespread drought, a violent protest over water erupted in Chihuahua, Mexico, a state in the northwestern part of the country. Local farmers armed themselves with sticks, rocks and Molotov cocktails and took over the Boquilla Dam, which was holding the water they desperately needed to irrigate their crops. Two people died in confrontations with Mexican soldiers. 

International Hydro-diplomacy: Building and Strengthening Regional Institutions for Water Conflict Prevention

Water, a resource that is becoming increasingly scarce, is critical in sustaining human life. The last century has witnessed a multifold increase in global water demand despite its waning availability. The rapidly growing urban populations coupled with increasing impacts of climate change have further exacerbated this challenge: more than two-thirds of the global population live with water-scarce conditions at least one month of the year.

"Climate change is water change—and it is bringing with it the threat of famine, insecurity, and conflict, warns"

Transboundary water cooperation is becoming more urgent as water scarcity and water stress are growing: Learning from water-stressed basins in West Africa

Effective and collaborative management of water resources across borders can enable peace, food security and resilience. As water scarcity and water stress are growing worldwide, most river basin organizations seem to acknowledge the need for transboundary water cooperation. Yet the agreements reached therein suffer from persistent under-implementation.

Comarca Lagunera- Necesario, atender problema de arsénico en el agua de La Laguna (El Siglo de Torreón)

La dependencia federal informó que, durante la quinta de seis mesas de diálogo sobre el proyecto federal de Agua Saludable para La Laguna, los organismos manifestaron su total compromiso para contribuir con el proyecto para atender la demanda histórica de más de 1 millón 600 mil habitantes de nueve municipios de La Laguna.

Estado de México- Toluca, una ciudad que se hunde por la extracción de agua

“El hundimiento debido al agotamiento del agua subterránea es un proceso lento y gradual que se desarrolla en grandes escalas de tiempo (meses a años), produciendo una pérdida progresiva de elevación de la tierra (centímetros a decímetros por año) típicamente en áreas muy grandes (decenas a miles de metros cuadrados). kilómetros) y afecta de forma variable a las zonas urbanas y agrícolas de todo el mundo”.

Water resources: Defusing conflict, promoting cooperation

Researchers have developed a methodology for avoiding conflicts of use in transboundary rivers. The model-based procedure allows for participatory planning and cooperative management of water resources.

Western Canada's heat wave is 'unprecedented.' Scientists say it will become more common with climate change

There's going to continue being new normals until we stop emitting greenhouse gases,' says climate scientist

The shocking numbers behind the Lake Mead drought crisis

(CNN)The United States' largest reservoir is draining rapidly. Plagued by extreme, climate change-fueled drought and increasing demand for water, Lake Mead on Wednesday registered its lowest level on record since the reservoir was filled in the 1930s.

Denuncian destrucción de obras para salvar humedal de Cuatro Ciénegas, en Coahuila

Sólo subsisten menos del 10 por ciento de la superficie original del humedal, debido a la sobreexplotación del agua en los últimos 20 años para cultivar alfalfa. https://www.milenio.com/estados/coahuila-destruyen-obras-salvar-humedal-cienegas

Is Sharing More than Water the Key to Transboundary Governance in the Meghna River Basin?

Western Drought Task Force Formed and 30 x 30 Skepticism from GOP Governors

The Biden administration on Wednesday highlighted the need to do more to address ongoing drought and the impacts, especially concerning water shortages...

El 71% de México está afectado por una sequía: Conagua

Pocas precipitaciones, bajos almacenamientos en las presas e incendios, mientras que más del 70% de México experimenta condiciones de sequía de moderadas a extremas.

Reflections: On April 4, Easter, and the Earthquake

Avanza rescate de humedales y recuperación de agua en Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila

El presidente Andrés Manuel López Obrador encabezó el informe de acciones de rescate y recuperación de agua en Cuatro Ciénegas, Coahuila.

Recommendations to Address Texas’ Water Infrastructure Following Winter Storm Uri

The polar vortex that descended on Texas from February 13 to 17, 2021 exposed not only the state’s ill-prepared electric grid, but also our aging, inadequate water infrastructure. More than half the state’s population was without potable water in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri. As of March 8, three weeks after the onset of the storm, 38 public water systems in 31 counties were still issuing boil water notices according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quali

Incrementa pandemia consumo y extracción de agua

Mientras que el confinamiento debido al COVID19 aumenta las demandas de agua, los pozos extraen agua subterránea de mayores profundidades. ¿Qué alternativas nos quedan y cómo podemos revertir esta situación?

The United Nations global water conventions: Fostering sustainable development and peace

Water is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world. For several years, water- related risks have been considered among the top five risks by business leaders in the annual global risk report of the World Economic Forum. Eighty per cent of global freshwater flow is in transboundary basins and 40 per cent of the world’s population live in these basins. Governing these waters in a cooperative, equitable and sustainable manner is critical for sustainable development, conflict prevention, peace and climate change resilience.

Ukiah Groundwater Agency moves forward with well monitoring network — expects groundwater regulation by June 2022

After a three month hiatus, the Ukiah Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency’s board held their first meeting of 2021 yesterday, at which they approved new board members, adopted an updated communication plan, and formally gained access to two parcels where they will expand their groundwater monitoring network as they work towards their goal of fully regulating and managing groundwater usage by June 2022.

Valle de México: El río Cutzamala registra su nivel más bajo en 25 años, alerta la Conagua

La Conagua reportó que las presas almacenadoras del río Cutzamala, la principal fuente de abastecimiento de la Ciudad de México, tienen el nivel más bajo en 25 años, con solo el 56.5% de su capacidad. Leer más

Proponen que gestión del agua sea de interés público en zonas de escasez

Legislador propuso que el manejo integral sustentable de los recursos hídricos, principalmente en zonas de escasez, sea de interés público, así como la protección en el uso preferentemente en las localidades cercanas a zonas industriales, rurales y agrícolas.

Agua subterránea, alternativa ante futuros conflictos por escasez en México

Tras la cotización del agua en los mercados internacionales y la previsión de que futuros conflictos sociales serán por el vital líquido, una alternativa es realizar un aprovechamiento sustentable del agua subterránea en el país, para lo cual es necesario realizar estudios técnicos y fortalecer a la Comisión Nacional del Agua (Conagua), señaló Raúl Morales Escalante, expresidente de la Asociación Geohidrológica Mexicana.