This document discusses the need for adaptive and sustainable groundwater management. It begins by characterizing aquifer systems and risks. It then discusses challenges of managing groundwater in irrigated agricultural areas and the need for integrated, adaptive management policies. Case studies from Brazil, Argentina, Peru and other areas demonstrate issues like overpumping, pollution hazards and rising salinity. The document advocates for pragmatic planning frameworks, balancing community participation with administration. It stresses the importance of conjunctive use, numerical models, monitoring and financing management measures. Vertical integration and horizontal coordination are needed between different governing bodies. Urban groundwater also requires management to fill institutional voids and address impacts on infrastructure from an often overlooked resource.

1. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEASLAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
pasos hacia unapasos hacia una
gestigestióón adaptiva y sosteniblen adaptiva y sostenible
Prof Dr Stephen FosterProf Dr Stephen Foster
Global Water Partnership–Senior AdviserGlobal Water Partnership–Senior Adviser
IAH–Past President 2004-08IAH–Past President 2004-08
GLOBAL WATER
PARTNERSHIP
Global Water
Partnership

2. GW•MATE Activities in World Bank Projects : 2001-
11Morocco (Min/BO) Argentina (SG)
Brasil (ANA/SG) Thailand
(DGR/LO)
China (MWR/CWRB) India (MWR/SG)
Mexico (CNA/SG) Peru (ANA/RO)
Tanzania (MWR/BO) Ethiopia
(MWR/RO)
‘groundwater only’ areas
conjunctive use areas

3. GW•MATE Intervention Philosophy : 2001-11
desde ‘un circulo vicioso’ a ‘un circulo virtuoso’

4. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
• Los Sistemas Acuiferos – Caracterización y Riesgos
• Retos de Gestión en Zonas Agricolas Bajo Riego
• Bases para una Gestion Integrada y Adaptiva
• Politicas del Uso para Zonas Urbanas

5. GROUNDWATER RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
like playing soccer – need to vary strategylike playing soccer – need to vary strategy
with the pitch you’re playing onwith the pitch you’re playing on
hydrogeological setting of aquifer both
frames the resource problem and

6. GROUNDWATER STORAGE & FLOW REGIMES
size matters – for groundwater management approachsize matters – for groundwater management approach

7. mainly via decadal
rainfall events
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE – RAINFALL
CORRELATION
composite research data from Southern Africacomposite research data from Southern Africa
NATURAL VEGETATION,
ROUGH GRAZING
& UNIRRIGATED
FARMLAND

9. GROUNDWATER RESOURCES & IRRIGATED AGRICULTUREGROUNDWATER RESOURCES & IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
recharge quality & rate greatly influenced by water management
quality cannotquality cannot
be divorced frombe divorced from
quantityquantity
permeable soil profiles

10. NON-RENEWABLE GROUNDWATER RESOURCESNON-RENEWABLE GROUNDWATER RESOURCES
strategic reserve – resilient to climate changestrategic reserve – resilient to climate change

11. STAGES OF GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENTSTAGES OF GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT
and their consequencesand their consequences
• environmental sustainability
• social equity
• economic efficiency

12. NEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF GROUNDWATER DEPLETIONNEGATIVE EXTERNALITIES OF GROUNDWATER DEPLETION
onset and impact varies widely with aquifer typeonset and impact varies widely with aquifer type
• energy consumption
• carbon footprint
• contribution SL rise

13. PROCESSES OF GROUNDWATERPROCESSES OF GROUNDWATER
SALINISATIONSALINISATION
require careful diagnosis and managementrequire careful diagnosis and management

14. GROUNDWATER POLLUTION PROTECTIONGROUNDWATER POLLUTION PROTECTION
a more complex challengea more complex challenge

15. GROUNDWATER SUPPLY
SPECIAL PROTECTION ZONES
focus for land-use controls
• possible in most legal codes
• but requires community/farmer cooperation
• may need financial compensation (who
pays)

16. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
• Los Sistemas Acuiferos – Caracterización y Riesgos
• Retos de Gestión en Zonas Agricolas Bajo Riego
• Bases para una Gestion Integrada y Adaptiva
• Politicas del Uso para Zonas Urbanas

17. Poços
Sumidouros
NORTHEASTERN BRASIL –
TROPICAL FRUIT PRODUCTION
excessive waterwell drawdowns
and groundwater polltion hazard

18. rh5
Carrizal Valley
Mendoza-
Argentina
ANDEAN OUTWASH PLAIN –
GRAPE & CHERRY PRODUCTION
threatened by rising
groundwater salinity

19. MENDOZA CARRIZAL AQUIFERMENDOZA CARRIZAL AQUIFER
groundwater flow and salinity regimegroundwater flow and salinity regime
2006

20. PERU-ICA VALLEY – ASPARAGUS PRODUCTION
changes in agricultural water management
and amplification of irrigation area

21. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
• Los Sistemas Acuiferos – Caracterización y Riesgos
• Retos de Gestión en Zonas Agricolas Bajo Riego
• Bases para una Gestion Integrada y Adaptiva
• Politicas del Uso para Zonas Urbanas

22. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PLANNINGGROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PLANNING
pragmatic framework for heavily-exploited aquiferspragmatic framework for heavily-exploited aquifers

23. DEMAND-SIDE MEASURES
• improving ‘irrigation efficiency’ alone
does not necessarily mean real water-
resource saving – concomitant need to
constrain/reduce irrigated area,
reduce consumptive groundwater use and
increase irrigation water productivity
• SUPPLY-SIDE MEASURES
aquifer recharge enhancement is valuable
for community mobilisation and for specific
water-supply problems – but in isolation is
never a panacea for resource imbalance
GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONSGROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS
local demand/supply side measures – no simple pancealocal demand/supply side measures – no simple pancea

24. LOCAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PROVISIONSLOCAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS
appropriate balanceappropriate balance
between communitybetween community
participation and publicparticipation and public
administrationadministration
(facilitation, use rights,(facilitation, use rights,
charging ,etc)charging ,etc)
move social behaviour
from ‘destructive
competition for dwindling
storage’ to ‘productive
use of available recharge’

25. CONJUNCTIVE USE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURECONJUNCTIVE USE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
evolution from spontaneous to plannedevolution from spontaneous to planned
developmentdevelopment

26. CONJUNCTIVE USE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURECONJUNCTIVE USE IN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE
use of integrated water-use numerical modelsuse of integrated water-use numerical models

27. • uncertain water-futures due to effects of land-use
and
climate change, and varying economic drivers
• groundwater use rights should be subject to periodic
review – with ‘restriction zones’ established as
needed
• user participation essential – with full information
dissemination/transparency to counteract corruption
• much improved measurement/monitoring required to
refine resource evaluation and provide evidence for
management decision-making
• finance of agreed programme of management
measures (demand management, supply
augmentation
and crop changes as appropriate)
GROUNDWATER RESOURCESGROUNDWATER RESOURCES
key instruments and tools for adaptive managementkey instruments and tools for adaptive management

28. GROUNDWATER RESOURCE GOVERNANCEGROUNDWATER RESOURCE GOVERNANCE
vertical integration and horizontal coordinationvertical integration and horizontal coordination

29. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
• Los Sistemas Acuiferos – Caracterización y Riesgos
• Retos de Gestión en Zonas Agricolas Bajo Riego
• Bases para una Gestion Integrada y Adaptiva
• Politicas del Uso para Zonas Urbanas

30. GROUNDWATER AND THE CITY
an intimate but often unrecognised relationship
SIGNIFICANT VARIATION WITHSIGNIFICANT VARIATION WITH
• HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING –HYDROGEOLOGIC SETTING – especially aquifer yield
potential,
accessibility, and physical confinement/oxidation status
• UTILITY WATER-SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS –UTILITY WATER-SERVICE ARRANGEMENTS – evolution,

31. GROUNDWATER AND THE CITYGROUNDWATER AND THE CITY
‘‘urbanisation impacts on groundwater’ andurbanisation impacts on groundwater’ and
‘groundwater impacts the urban infrastructure’‘groundwater impacts the urban infrastructure’
‘‘predictable’ but ‘rarely predicted’predictable’ but ‘rarely predicted’
without planning – “one person’s solution becomes the anotherwithout planning – “one person’s solution becomes the another
person’s problem”person’s problem”
The
Integrating
Element

32. • groundwater use much more significant in overall
water-supply than generally appreciated, and it forms
‘invisible link’ between various facets of infrastructure
• much water use/effluent disposal is unregulated or
‘illegal’ – thus little discussed by infrastructure sector
• urban groundwater affects ‘everybody’ but often
responsibility of no ‘body’ – institutional vacuum
• broad stakeholder involvement needed through
‘standing review panel’ or ‘stakeholder consortium’
- but who should take management lead ?
(municipal authority, water resource regulatory agency,
public health ministry, water utility, chamber of commerce, etc)
URBAN GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT
filling the ‘institutional vacuum’

33. LAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEASLAS AGUAS SUBTERRANEAS
pasos hacia unapasos hacia una
gestigestióón adaptiva y sosteniblen adaptiva y sostenible
GLOBAL WATER
PARTNERSHIP
Global Water
Partnership
www.worldbank.org/gwmatewww.worldbank.org/gwmate
www.gwpforum.orgwww.gwpforum.org