Groundwater minining consists in extracting water from the ground at a faster rate than the water supply can be recharged. The most immediate consequence of this overxploitation of a reservoir is that it will sooner or later run out of water. But that is not all, groundwater mining has more far reaching and sometimes even surpising consequences. In this short video we will first discuss aquifers and look at how water arrives and moves underground. We will then look at how grounwater mining affects aquifers, but also the flow of water flowing in rivers and the very ground below our fields or cities. After watching this video you will understand why it's important to manage our groundwater resources sustainably in order to avoid negative economic, environmental and social repercussions.
Credits:
Photos of subsidence and associated damage are from the USGS image bank.
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➤ CHAPTERS
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0:00 Introduction
0:42 What is groundwater?
1:02 Porosity et permeability
1:55 Aquifers and water table
3:19 How does water fill the aquifer? (confined, unconfined aquifers and fossibl)
4:51 Is water a renewable resource?
5:04 Groundwater mining
6:00 Extraction costs
6:15 Groundwater mining and river discharge (losing rivers and water quality)
7:48 Compaction, reservoir deterioration and flood risk
9:00 Ground subsidence
9:40 Salt water intrusion
10:20 Conclusion