WATER

Unmeasured Danger: America’s

Hidden Groundwater Crisis
Fact Sheet • July 2009

M ost Americans don’t spend much time thinking about the water in the ground
beneath our feet, yet this water plays a vital role in our lives. Water pumped
from the ground makes up about 40 percent of our national drinking and agricultural
supplies1 and affects the health of all our freshwater. And, although it might not be
immediately obvious to most citizens, our groundwater resources are in danger.

Our Groundwater Is in Danger

Today, nearly every state in the country has seen under-
ground water levels fall. These declines are a problem not
just because they make it harder and more expensive to
pump water. Since groundwater is connected to surface
water, overpumping can cause rivers, lakes, streams and
wetlands to dry up. Already, such damage can be seen in
Arizona, where the Santa Cruz River was sucked dry to
quench the thirst of citizens in Tucson,2 in Massachusetts,
where the Ipswich River has dried up under the demands
of new suburban developments,3 and in Florida, where
numerous lakes and wetlands have dwindled to puddles
due to groundwater pumping.4 A U.S. Geological Survey illustration of groundwater in rocks. Source:
Ground Water, USGS General Interest publication, available at http://
pubs.usgs.gov/gip/gw/
And it’s not just our water that’s in trouble. Without
water supporting the earth above it, the ground itself
can cave in. These effects can be gradual, as in Houston,
Texas, where land is gradually sinking over time,5 or Why Are We in Danger?
abrupt, as in Florida and New York, where sudden Why are our groundwater supplies drying up? In the past
sinkholes have opened in the ground. 6 50 years, changes in technology and terrain that damage
the resource have far outpaced our ability to protect it.
Unfortunately, if these problems aren’t prevented, the Due to advances in pumps, water under the earth’s sur-
effects can be long-lasting. When groundwater sources face is drawn out faster than rain and snow can replace it
become damaged, they do not easily rebound back to — in some cases, nearly 100 times faster. 9
health. Well water can become undrinkable when water
levels drop below sea level and salty ocean water moves Urban and suburban development, too, have hurt
in — entire wellfields in New Jersey have been abandoned groundwater. As we have paved over lands with strip
due to this saltwater intrusion. 7 And, overpumping can malls and parking lots — surfaces that prevent water from
cause aquifers to lose water storage capacity. Today, the naturally filtering through the soil — we have slowed the
Ogallala Aquifer, which provides water for farming in natural recharge process. And, pollution from human
eight western states, has lost enough water in storage to development — including bacterial waste from leaking
quench the thirst of all the homes and businesses in D.C. septic systems, pesticides from farms and lawns, and
for over 1,000 years.8 * industrial chemicals from construction and mining —
threatens the health of these water sources.10
* 65,000,000,000,000 gallons lost in storage/35,000,000 gallons per
day used in D.C. = 481,481 days of water = 1,319 years of water
Meanwhile, the state level regulations that govern the
resource have not kept up with the changes that have
abused it. Groundwater laws were historically based on a
poor understanding of hydrology that ignored the con-
nection between groundwater and surface water.11 These
laws have only recently begun to come under public
scrutiny.
How Much Danger Are We In?
We Don’t Know
Although we have a lot of evidence that our groundwater
is in danger in many regions, we actually do not know
how much danger we are in nationally. According to the
United States Geological Survey, “the extent of ground-
water level declines across the United States has not been
monitored or computed on a regular basis.”12 Different
states contribute different amounts of resources to such
projects, if they collect data at all, and use different stan-
dards.13 Since aquifers cross state lines, local data cannot
fully explain the status of the resource anyway. 14
Yet this information is critical for the public to under-
stand the state of our groundwater resources and to help
state water managers make sound decisions. That is why
many experts are calling for the federal government to
take a leadership role in protecting our national ground-
water resources by funding groundwater data collection
projects. In recent years, scientists at the United States
Geological Survey, the Groundwater Protection Council,
the Subcommittee on Groundwater of the Advisory Com-
mittee on Water Information, the John Heinz III Center
for Science and Economics, the Government Accounting
Office and the National Research Council have all asked
the federal government to collect such data.
Congress Can Help
Congress can take the first step in addressing this issue by
commissioning a report from the Government Account-
ing Office to find out exactly what resources our nation’s
scientists would need to carry out a comprehensive,
nationwide study of our groundwater resources. Once
Congress has an accurate picture of the needs, it can fund
the project accordingly.
We cannot afford to wait on this issue. Since groundwater
lies hidden beneath our feet, we often do not notice its
absence until the effects become visible. If we wait until
people start noticing that their groundwater is gone, it
will be far too late to enact policies that will prevent fur-
ther damage.
For more information, see Food & Water Watch’s report
Unmeasured Danger.
Endnotes
1 Reilly, Thomas et al. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological
Survey. “Ground-Water Availability in the United States.” (Circular
1323). 2008 at 11.
2 See Glennon, Robert. (2002). Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping
and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. Washington: Island Press at
23-50.
3 See Glennon, Robert. (2002). Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping
and the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. Washington: Island Press at
99-111.
4 Glennon, Robert. (2002). Water Follies: Groundwater Pumping and
the Fate of America’s Fresh Waters. Washington: Island Press at 75.
5 Taylor, Charles and William Alley. U.S. Department of the Interior,
U.S. Geological Survey. “Ground-Water-Level Monitoring and the
Importance of Long-Term Water-Level Data.” (Circular 1217) 2001 at
25.
6 Galloway, Devin et al. (Eds.) U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S.
Geological Survey. “Land Subsidence in the United States.” (Circular
1182). 1999 at 6.
7 Taylor, Charles and William Alley. U.S. Department of the Interior,
U.S. Geological Survey. “Ground-Water-Level Monitoring and the
Importance of Long-Term Water-Level Data.” (Circular 1217) 2001 at
43.
8 Reilly, Thomas et al. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological
Survey. “Ground-Water Availability in the United States.” (Circular
1323). 2008 at 59; D.C. Water and Sewer Authority. “2007 Annual
Report.” 2007 at 3.
65,000,000,000,000/35,000,000 = 481,481 days of water = 1,319
years of water
9 Little, Jane. “The Ogallala Aquifer: Saving a Vital U.S. Water Source.”
Scientific American. March 2009. Calculation: Withdrawals = 4 ft
Recharge = 1/2inch = 1/24 ft 1/24(96) = 4 Therefore, withdrawals are
10
96 times larger than recharge.
Ground Water Protection Council. “Ground Water Report to the
Nation: A Call to Action.” 2007 at 4-5.
11 Weston, Timothy R. and Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates
Ellis LLP. “Evolving Issues in Eastern Water Law.” American Bar
Association Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, 15th
Annual Section Fall Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA. September 26-29, 2007
at 1.
12 Reilly, Thomas et al. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological
Survey. “Ground-Water Availability in the United States.” (Circular
1323). 2008 at 15.
13 Subcommittee on Ground Water. The Advisory Committee on Water
Information. “A National Framework for Ground-Water Monitoring in
the United States.” (Draft Report). December 2008 at 18.
14 Reilly, Thomas et al. U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Geological
Survey. “Ground-Water Availability in the United States.” (Circular
1323). 2008 at 15.
For more information:
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Copyright © July 2009 Food & Water Watch