Groundwater: Challenges and Strategies

Groundwater Challenges of the 21st Century

Groundwater Future: Integrating Quantity & Quality in a Changing
Climate
Sustainable Groundwater : Issues & Challenges
Groundwater Quantity & Quality (GQQ) Conference 2014
Groundwater: A New Paradigm

Purpose: To bring together resource agencies, water districts, university scientists and other groundwater stakeholders to explore
linkages among climate change, human systems and the groundwater supply of southern California. Climate change coupled with
increasing water demands threaten the water supply to southern California.
Objectives: The workshop features presentations by federal, state, and local water agencies. The presentations will examine climate
change and groundwater sustainability across multiple scales ranging from the western United States to a local California aquifer.
Objectives are to:
(1) Discuss agency actions to address climate change impacts,and
(2) Identify information gaps, agency needs and data resources
Theme and Objectives: The conference theme is Managing Groundwater Quality to Support Competing Human

and Ecological Needs, and will focus on sustainable management and protection of groundwater quality in an
effort to meet the needs of both human and ecological systems. This challenge is magnified by stresses on
water resources changing with climatic conditions. This conference will include traditional areas of emphasis
such as contaminated site management and advanced modeling capabilities but will also expand to include
groundwater quality problems and challenges at larger scales and at the ecological interface. Groundwater is a
vital component of the hydrologic cycle and a major global water reservoir. Groundwater movement is of
interest on timescales from days to millennia and provides critical exchanges with surface water and the
atmosphere. Water quality in groundwater and across these interface is critical to understand and will also be a
focus of this conference.
The conference will bring together researchers, industry, regulators, contractors, consultants, planners and
water supply agencies to address the important issues related to groundwater quality.

Groundwater: A New Paradigm being the main theme, this biennial conference aims to bring together
students, academics, specialists and decision-makers to discuss and showcase groundwater and related
activities. The National Development Plan (www.npconline.co.za) sets out bold plans and interventions to be
achieved by 2030. Water plays a key role in most developmental plans. With a large proportion of the country
being served by groundwater it makes sense to take stock of our achievements within the groundwater sector
as well as to frame the future role of groundwater within this developmental agenda. The demand and
pressures on our groundwater resources will increase into the future.
The role of the groundwater professional is likely to increase and the groundwater community should be
prepared to engage society on the efficient management of this finite resource to ensure social, economic and
environmental security. The way groundwater is perceived by society and specifically decision-makers needs to
drastically change to effect positive change. Key lessons from international experiences through international
contributions will form part of this new groundwater sector roadmap.