In Sweden, about half of all drinking water comes from groundwater sources. Groundwater is the water that is stored underground, including in large water-filled cavities called aquifers. It is formed by rain, snow, and meltwater precipitation, slowly penetrating through the ground. The water in the groundwater reservoirs can be anywhere from a few weeks to several thousand years old and is often so clean that you can drink it directly without treatment.
OUR GROUNDWATER IS A VITAL RESOURCE
In Sweden, we generally have a good supply of groundwater, but in some parts of the world, they pump up the groundwater much faster than it has time to renew. Since we store the water in the ground, it’s hard to see the quantities, quickly leading to over-utilization. A few years ago, data from NASA satellites showed that water levels are falling in more than half of the world’s 37 largest groundwater reservoirs [1].
A significant reason for this is water management in agriculture worldwide. Increased global trade in crops is increasing the pressure on groundwater use. Between 2000 and 2010, groundwater use in agriculture in China doubled and increased significantly in India and the United States. About 43 per cent of the water used to irrigate crops comes from groundwater, and cotton is one of the crops that consumes the most [2].
Cotton farmers in some parts of India must drill over 200 meters to reach groundwater [3]. As a result of cotton cultivation in Uzbekistan, the low groundwater levels have resulted in a shortage of drinking water in some areas [4]. Overexploitation of groundwater reservoirs worldwide has also led to deteriorating water quality due to contamination. When the water levels fall in the reservoirs, the risk of contaminants entering the reservoirs increases.
WHY ARE THE MAGAZINES NOT REFILLED? WATER GOES AROUND IN A CYCLE, RIGHT?
The soil’s ability to let through water depends on how much groundwater is formed. Most precipitation can seep down and form groundwater if the soil is porous. In large-scale industrial agriculture, the soil’s water-holding capacity risks deteriorating as larger and heavier machines make the ground harder [5]. The water can not penetrate when the earth is tight and packed. Instead, it flows into streams of water and finally into the sea. Drainage can also have a significant impact on groundwater formation. In agriculture, digging ditches to remove unwanted water from the soil is common. Like this, water that could have seeped down and become groundwater flows into watercourses and the sea instead [6].
The lost groundwater from one place also does not necessarily go back to the same area where it came from. From the sea, the water rises like water vapour to the atmosphere, and can then fall like rain over some entirely different land area.
According to a study by the UN, the world will have a water deficit of 40 per cent by 2030 if water consumption does not decrease dramatically [7]. If we want to maintain sufficient water in the future, we must cultivate differently and rethink which crops we grow. Not least to ensure the future supply of drinking water.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
- Clothing and other textile products can have different environmental impacts depending on where we produce them and how we irrigate the cotton. Check for certified eco-labels when buying new textile products. KRAV has criteria for textile raw cotton materials—specific standards regarding textiles exist. For example, to use it in a way it doesn’t have such a negative effect on the groundwater level.
- A changing climate is affecting groundwater levels in Sweden as well. In the southeastern parts of the country, groundwater levels may fall. Does your drinking water come from groundwater? Find out what it looks like in your particular municipality!
Sources
- BBC -Is the world running out of fresh water?
- BBC – Food trade drains global water sources at ‘alarming’ rates.
- Naturskyddsforeningen.se- The cotton kids
- DN.se – You pick cotton because you are poor
- Extension.psu.edu – Effects of Soil Compaction
- Resource.sgu.se – Groundwater Government report
- Svt.se – The world’s water reserves are rapidly depleting
