Journal Articles

Resumen

La hidrogeomorfología es una disciplina emergente que estudia la relación entre las formas del relieve y la hidrología, centrándose en las interacciones entre el agua subterránea y el agua superficial. Este estudio presenta la metodología para la elaboración de un mapa hidrogeomorfológico orientado a ilustrar las relaciones entre los componentes del acuífero y las características geomorfológicas del Acuífero Transfronterizo San Pedro (TSPA por sus siglas en Inglés) en México-Estados Unidos. Esta información contribuye a un mayor entendimiento del TSPA, facilita la localización de zonas de recarga y descarga de agua subterránea, es útil para el desarrollo de estrategias de manejo sustentable del agua subterránea y podría ser útil en el desarrollo de modelos conceptuales y numéricos de agua subterránea para la región. Ver texto completo

Palabras clave: hidrogeomorfología; acuífero transfronterizo; recarga; descarga; Estados Unidos; México.

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Las aguas subterráneas satisfacen las necesidades de agua potable de cerca del 50% de la población mundial y contribuyen a más del 40% de la producción mundial de cultivos de regadío. Más del 40% del agua del mundo es de carácter transfronterizo y cruza una frontera binacional [1]. La gestión del recurso conjunta entre países implica la cooperación de múltiples jurisdicciones, a veces con lenguas y culturas diferentes. Las decisiones de gestión sobre el uso de los recursos hídricos subterráneos requieren una comprensión física del acuífero, incluyendo la disponibilidad de agua subterránea, los factores de estrés sobre el sistema y el potencial de uso sostenible del agua subterránea. La información sobre el sistema físico puede ayudar a los gobiernos y a los gestores a tomar decisiones informadas sobre el recurso compartido. Este número especial, "Avances en la evaluación de acuíferos transfronterizos", pretende destacar tanto los trabajos recientes para avanzar en el conocimiento físico de los acuíferos transfronterizos como los factores relevantes para una colaboración exitosa en el uso de los recursos hídricos subterráneos transfronterizos.

https://wrrc.arizona.edu/publication/advances-transboundary-aquifer-assessment

https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000113

Publicado en el Día Mundial del Agua 2022, el Informe de Desarrollo Mundial del Agua de las Naciones Unidas 2022, Agua subterránea: Haciendo lo invisible visible, destaca la importancia de las aguas subterráneas para satisfacer la demanda mundial de agua. Se señala ominosamente en el resumen corto del informe que "este recurso natural a menudo es mal entendido y, en consecuencia, subvalorado, mal gestionado e incluso abusado". De ahí la necesidad de aumentar la visibilidad de un recurso hídrico crítico que, a diferencia de los ríos, lagos y océanos, no se puede ver.

https://wrrc.arizona.edu/publication/increasing-visibility-transboundary-groundwater

Groundwater serves the drinking water needs of about 50% of the global population and contributes to over 40% of the global production of irrigated crops. Over 40% of the world’s water is transboundary in nature, crossing a binational border [1]. Management of the joint resource between countries involves the cooperation of multiple jurisdictions, sometimes with different languages and cultures. Management decisions about use of the groundwater resources require a physical understanding of the aquifer [2], including groundwater availability, stressors on the system, and the potential for sustainable groundwater use. Information about the physical system can support informed decisions by governments and managers regarding the shared resource. This Special Issue, “Advances in Transboundary Aquifer Assessment”, is intended to highlight both recent work to advance the physical understanding of transboundary aquifers and factors relevant in successful collaboration on transboundary groundwater resource use.

Arizona has been at the forefront of groundwater management since the establishment of the Groundwater Management Act in 1980. The Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District (CAGRD) is a groundwater management mechanism that facilitates development in regions of Central Arizona where the use of groundwater is limited by law. Several stakeholders have raised concerns about some of the CAGRD’s operations; however, stakeholders have yet to agree on the definition of the problems, let alone how the CAGRD might be improved. This study uses statistical and inductive thematic content analysis of a survey to determine (1) the CAGRD issues that stakeholders view as problems and (2) whether opinions differ significantly among different stakeholder groups. This study also uses deductive thematic content analysis to examine semi-structured interviews with CAGRD experts in order to find potential solutions to the CAGRD-related issues that are considered problems by stakeholders. The survey results show that long-term uncertainties related to the availability of renewable water supplies and hydrologic disconnect, where groundwater pumping and replenishment take place in different sub-basins, are stakeholders’ chief concerns. Sector affiliation and CAGRD membership status are associated with stakeholders’ opinions on some, but not all, questions. The potential policy changes offered address problems identified by stakeholders. This research will inform forthcoming policy discussions regarding groundwater management in Central Arizona as the state’s decision makers look to improve the CAGRD in the context of water scarcity exacerbated by climate change

https://journals.plos.org/water/article?id=10.1371/journal.pwat.0000113

Released on World Water Day 2022, the 2022 United Nations World Water Development Report, Groundwater: Making the invisible visible [1], highlights the importance of groundwater in meeting water demands globally. Noted ominously in the report’s short summary is that “this natural resource is often poorly understood, and consequently undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.” Hence, the need for increasing the visibility of a critical water resource that, unlike rivers, lakes, and oceans, cannot be seen.

Stakeholder participation is a foundation of good water governance. Good groundwater governance typically involves the co-production of knowledge about the groundwater system. Models provide a vehicle for producing this knowledge, as well as a “boundary object” around which scientists and stakeholders can convene the co-production process. Through co-production, stakeholders and scientific experts can engage in exchanges that create system knowledge not otherwise achievable. The process involves one-way transfer of information, active two-way conversations, and integration of multiple kinds of knowledge into shared understanding. In the Upper Santa Cruz River basin in Arizona, USA, the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) convened a project aimed at providing scientific underpinnings for groundwater planning and management. This project, entitled Groundwater, Climate, and Stakeholder Engagement, serves as a case study employing the first two stages of knowledge co-production using a hydrological model. Through an iterative process that included two-way communication, stakeholders provided critical input to hydrologic modeling analyses. Acting as a bridging organization, the WRRC facilitated a co-production process, involving location-specific and transferability workshops, which resulted in new knowledge and capacity for applying the model to novel problems.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/8/10/417

The growing importance of groundwater as a critical component of water supply for agriculture, urban areas, industry, and ecosystems has increased the need to protect aquifers worldwide from overexploitation. Water governance is central to achieving this end. Thus, the article "Modes and Approaches of Groundwater Governance: A Survey of Lessons Learned from Selected Cases across the Globe", by Robert G. Varady, Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran, Andrea K. Gerlak, and Sharon B. Megdal from the University of Arizona, analyzes ten selected groundwater-governance case studies from diverse regions to identify characteristics of good governance practice. The cases selected varied across four elements - institutional setting, availability and access to information and science, robustness of civil society, and economic and regulatory framework. All four of these elements were found to have important impacts on governance by affecting incentives, conflict, power relations, effectiveness, and sustainability of process and outcomes. In sum, critical capacities of governments at multiple levels and civil society actors were found in the characteristics of shared governance. This article was published in a Special Issue of the journal Water with the title "Water Governance, Stakeholder Engagement, and Sustainable Water Resources Management," edited by the WRRC's Sharon B. Megdal and Susanna Eden and Eylon Shamir of the Hydrologic Research Center, San Diego, CA. 

Increasing demand for water has led to a higher reliance on groundwater. As dependence on groundwater increases, water managers and policy makers need to pay careful attention to both groundwater quality and quantity. This paper, written by Sharon B. Megdal for the journal npj Clean Water in 2018, summarizes the results of efforts to bring attention to the importance of understanding and improving groundwater governance and management. Discussion of survey work in the United States and global case studies highlights the importance of focusing attention on this invisible water resource before pollution or depletion of it causes severe economic, environmental, and social dislocations. Better governance and management of groundwater are required to move toward sustainable groundwater use.

The article, "Critical Issues Affecting Groundwater Quality Governance in the United States," published in Water in 2018, by Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, Sharon B. Megdal, Andrea K. Gerlak, Mike Wireman, Adriana A. Zuniga-Teran, and Robert G. Varady, reports the results of the "State-Level Groundwater Governance and Management in the U.S.: Summary of Survey Results of Groundwater Quality Strategies". Survey respondents identify a wide assortment of groundwater issues and concerns, including quality and quantity impairment, staffing and budget issues, private well vulnerability, and overdraft. The authors also discuss how findings align with current groundwater uses in the U.S.