Now’s the time to protect our earth’s water

Groundwater is of huge importance, both to our health, and the environment too. However, an increasing array of contaminants are threatening this precious resource. We need to do more to protect it – but how? Here we explore the challenges, and offer some ideas.

By Michel Fuchs, Senior Vice President Water at Diehl Metering

Did you know that a massive 98% of the world’s accessible freshwater comes from groundwater – the water found beneath the earth’s surface? In fact, groundwater provides drinking water for as much as 50% of the global population, it fills the reservoirs (known as aquifers) that supply 40% of the water used for irrigation, and is vital for sanitation, farming, industry, and more. It’s one of the world’s most precious natural resources, but – due to our growing population –?it is under more demand than ever before.

This is a concern, which is why – in honor of World Water Day which took place on March 22 – we believe it is important to highlight the consequences we face if groundwater is depleted, and offer some strategies to help protect this vital resource.

A rapidly escalating problem

There are multiple reports of declining groundwater across the globe, all with different causes. In Australia, Canada, parts of Europe, and the Middle East, for example, problems include general scarcity and seawater intrusion as a result of over extraction.

In Scandinavia, Germany and the UK, climate change and pollution are the main threats. The use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture result in high nitrate levels which exceed the statutory limits for drinking water. In fact, 20% of European Union (EU) groundwater bodies exceeds EU standards on good water quality due to agricultural pollution.

Meanwhile, in countries where water is scarce, the use of cheap energy for transporting groundwater needed for irrigation purposes is leading to groundwater depletion and a significant reduction in water quality, with monumental consequences for those who depend on groundwater irrigation.

All of these problems combine to create serious issues: It’s predicted that, by 2025, half the world’s population will reside in water-stressed areas. And, more worryingly, some groundwater could be completely depleted by 2050 .

“The world’s wet regions are getting wetter and its dry areas are getting drier much more quickly than previously thought,” said Jay Famiglietti, a professor and the executive director of the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan,?in an article for Pew. “Changes that threaten the availability of fresh water and create new risks to people’s health, the food supply and the environment.”

A call for action: making the invisible visible

The campaign title for this year’s World Water Day 2022 is ‘Groundwater – making the invisible visible’. Ultimately, it’s about increasing awareness on how and why to protect this resource, which, while invisible, is so crucial to our lives.

At Diehl Metering, we are showing our support in a number of ways. First, we have partnered up with 1001fontaines , a non-governmental organization that is working hard to provide access to drinking water in countries such as Madagascar, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam where the groundwater is so polluted that it is no longer safe to drink.

The NGO is doing this by installing water purification stations, which use ultraviolet sterilization technology. It is making the project sustainable by creating micro-enterprises to run the stations. This enables isolated communities to produce and sell their own purified drinking water in large water bottles, for less than one cent per liter.

In addition, 1001fontaines is running training workshops to promote the need for access to safe drinking water, and the health outcomes that arise as a result. For example, in order to reach more beneficiaries in Vietnam, 1001fontaines has targeted poor workers in Ho Chi Minh City, through its Water for Workers program.

The goal is not only to ensure safe water at work for all employees, but also to provide workers with education and awareness workshops, in order to increase their knowledge regarding the importance of safe drinking water and encourage them to take positive actions for their health. By knowing where water comes from and what the contamination risks are, they will change their behavior towards water consumption and water resource preservation.

Small actions make a big impact

We are also showing our support for World Water Day 2022 by recognizing that protecting ?groundwater is not only the responsibility of industry and agriculture leaders – it’s the responsibility of us all.

By doing our bit, we can all help reduce the pollution that has such a catastrophic effect on our groundwater. For example, did you know that a single cigarette butt can contaminate 200 liters of water ? That’s because cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemical elements, including heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium and mercury, as well as tar. Now think about the fact that, globally, more than 136,000 cigarettes stubs are thrown on the ground every second. They are causing monumental damage – but it’s something we can prevent quite easily.

That’s why we are backing a campaign to curb this type of pollution. The campaign sees the words “The Sea Starts Here” being painted on manhole covers and other rainwater drains, including those at Diehl Metering sites located above the European Rhein groundwater.?

It’s a simple message, but we hope it will be effective at reducing the amount of litter entering our sewers, and maybe help instigate the behavior change that is so necessary to help protect our groundwater long into the future.?