Groundwater depletion accelerating in many parts of the world, study finds

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The groundwater that supplies farms, homes, industries and cities is being depleted across the world. And in many cases, it’s happening at rates faster than in the past 40 years. That’s according to researchers whose work was published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Groundwater is one of the largest freshwater sources anywhere in the world, making the depletion of aquifers a significant concern. On the plus side, the scientists found several examples of aquifers that were helped to recover by changes in policy or water management. They analyzed groundwater data from 170,000 wells from nearly 1,700 aquifers across more than 40 countries.