Reconciling Groundwater Storage Depletion Due to Pumping with Sustainability

Jac Van der Gun and Annukka Lipponen
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Jac Van der Gun: Independent hydrogeologist, Ganzeboomsweg 3C, 7433 ES Schalkhaar, The Netherlands
Annukka Lipponen: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Sustainability, 2010, vol. 2, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: Groundwater pumping causes depletion of groundwater storage. The rate of depletion incurred by any new well is gradually decreasing and eventually becomes zero in the long run, after induced recharge and reduction of natural discharge of groundwater combined (capture) have become large enough to balance the pumping rate completely. If aquifer-wide aggregated pumping rates are comparatively large, then such a new dynamic equilibrium may not be reached and groundwater storage may become exhausted. Decisions to pump groundwater are motivated by people’s need for domestic water and by expected benefits of using water for a variety of activities. But how much finally is abstracted from an aquifer (or is considered to be an optimal aggregate abstraction rate) depends on a wide range of other factors as well. Among these, the constraint imposed by the groundwater balance (preventing aquifer exhaustion) has received ample attention in the professional literature. However, other constraints or considerations related to changes in groundwater level due to pumping are observed as well and in many cases they even may dominate the decisions on pumping. This paper reviews such constraints or considerations, examines how they are or may be incorporated in the decision-making process, and evaluates to what extent the resulting pumping rates and patterns create conditions that comply with principles of sustainability.

Keywords: groundwater development; groundwater storage depletion; socio-economic impacts; environmental impacts; groundwater resources management; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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