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Yves here. While the idea of having a comparatively cheap way to get water to poor areas is appealing, any resource exploitation idea has a downside. There does not seem to be any obvious way to limit what would be decentralized exploitation of aquifers. From a crass property rights perspective, an aquifer will wind up serving many landowners, yet a single access point could drain a lot of water. Those who grew up in the US Southwest may also know how “prefecting” water rights is a big deal, since those claims are often protested, particularly by farmers who worry removing too much groundwater will hurt their corp yields.
And this process can go too far. In coastal Maine, many of the plots were once subsistence farms with food sources and income supplemented by hunting and fishing. Building a house usually depended on whether you could drill a well. These areas have often become dense with vacation homes. The ground water now has so many minerals in it that no one filters it; everyone brings in bottled drinking water. And even with that, the water pressure is often so low that owners and renters have to spread out when they shower or run a washing machine.
This article points out that groundwater supplies are vast. But like real estate, everything is local. It’s still possible to overharvest where people live even with global levels appearing ample.
By Felicity Bradstock, a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. Originally published at OilPrice
- Solar-powered water pumps can provide a sustainable solution to the global water crisis by tapping into vast groundwater resources.
- While solar pumps offer significant benefits, their widespread use raises concerns about potential overexploitation of groundwater, particularly in arid regions.
- To ensure sustainable and equitable water access, careful management and regulation of solar pump usage are essential.
As the use of solar technology expands, the rollout of solar-powered water pumps is expected to significantly enhance the availability of safe drinking water around the world. Groundwater – the water stored in between rocks underground – contributes almost 99 percent of the unfrozen fresh water found on Earth. In Africa, where many do not have access to clean drinking water, there is thought to be around 20 times more groundwater than that in lakes and reservoirs. And yet many countries across the continent experience severe water scarcity, with many communities lacking the equipment needed to access the water located just a few metres underground.
Around half of the world’s population currently relies on groundwater for drinking, demonstrating the huge potential of tapping into this supply in other regions. It is much more reliable than surface water during times of drought, making it a critical water source on a warming planet.
Scientists have long discussed the potential of rolling out solar-powered water pumps in areas that lack access to clean water to support community needs, including providing access to drinking water and water for crop irrigation. Solar water pumps are accompanied by a set of solar panels that convert the sun’s rays into electricity to operate the pump. Pipes then transport water from the source to wherever it needs to go, such as a purification system or holding tank. Installing solar water pumps in rural, arid regions can help communities gain access to lifesaving drinking water, as well as expand agricultural activities to grow food.
Projects of this nature are attracting increasing interest as there is great potential to change the lives of millions using new clean technologies. Projects are gaining traction at a time when mapping groundwater across the African continent is easier than ever. This is a topic that is set to be discussed at the International Association of Hydrogeologists’ (IAH) World Groundwater Congress in Davos, Switzerland this week.
However, scientists are concerned about the potential downfalls that could come with the rollout of solar pumps, which must be mitigated to ensure projects are successful. One challenge is the potential overexploitation of the solar system, which could lead to the depletion of already scarce water sources. This is of particular concern in arid locations in parts of Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. In addition, this technology cannot be used in all regions of Africa, particularly in rural communities situated on top of ancient rocks where water is harder to access.
To avoid overexploitation, scientists suggest that handpumps and low-yielding solar-powered pumps should continue to be used alongside large solar pumps. This equipment can help communities gain access to drinking water while avoiding the depletion of the water source. Meanwhile, low-yield solar-powered pumps can be used in locations where water yields are low, allowing the water to be pumped throughout the day and stored for use as needed.
Professor Alan MacDonald, the head of groundwater at the British Geological Survey explained, “I would invite everyone to see this “solar groundwater pumping revolution” in terms of equity. Through that lens, we have the chance to ensure that this precious resource is sustainably and fairly unlocked to all those who are still waiting for a safe and reliable water supply.”
In India, solar-powered water access is already a reality for many. By 2026, an estimated three million or more farmers will be using solar pumps for irrigation purposes. This is expected to transform the lives of farmers across the country. However, scientists worry that water depletion could become a very real issue soon. Rajasthan, a desert state in India, has the greatest number of solar pumps of any state. The government has been offering subsidised solar pumps for around a decade, providing these pumps to nearly 100,000 farmersin the state. This equipment provides irrigation water for over a million acres, increasing the water for agricultural use by over a quarter. However, as the state gets little rain, these water sources are rapidly depleting and not being replenished fast enough.
Many pumps across the region no longer have access to water, as the underground rocks are dry down to 400 feet below ground, further than the pumps can reach. This has led to many pumps being abandoned and farmers once again facing water scarcity. Some farmers have purchased more powerful pumps, leaving poorer farmers to go without water or having to buy it from rich neighbours.
While there are major challenges to address when considering the widespread rollout of solar-powered water pumps in arid areas of the world, they could provide the green infrastructure needed to ensure millions of people have access to clean drinking water. Greater investigation into how to limit the output of these pumps or use them alongside other technologies could support the deployment of such equipment.
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Atmospheric water harvesting may also be interesting. You can condense water directly out of humidity in the air, even in desert climates, with just some solar energy input. It relies somewhat on newly developed materials, but nothing super high tech or expensive. It is not yet practical at scale, but may become so fairly soon.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44221-023-00116-2
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52137-4
Passive dew harvesting is also a possibility, particularly as relative humidity rises. There have been some promising low-tech prototypes. Certainly not enough to support our water-wasteful lifestyles, let alone data farms, but a possible source of clean drinking water for thirsty people.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/science-technology/indian-scientists-develop-technology-for-harvesting-water-from-dew-58616
I’ve seen videos about what is possible with some of these techniques and I gotta say that they are very impressive. Not enough to run a plant or a farm of course but enough to keep a family or small community going which may be the important thing. Does that mean that one day we will see moisture farmers as a profession like in the original Star Wars film? Well, they’d better have those units in the South Ridge repaired by midday, or there’ll be hell to pay.
They do quite a lot of that in Namibia, apparently. No high-tech stuff; just fine-mesh nets and gutters for the water. Also, I think, in the Atacama in Peru. But it doesn’t generate an enormous amount of water, unfortunately.
As to pumping out the groundwater, water-level in the pond at the bottom of my garden has fallen two metres in the last twenty years and that’s almost certainly because of groundwater pumping just for a couple of hundred people. Scale that up by twenty million and you’re going to have a lot of trouble a few years down the line.
The only solution is fewer people. Vastly fewer people.
When you get right down to it, yes. Pretty sure vastly fewer people is where we’re headed, and right quick at that.
The issue with ground water is total dissolved solids, or t.d.s. . This includes minerals, and ions like nitrate, flouride, and arsenic. Nitrate alone causes pediatric brain cancer and childhood stunting. This is present in many rural areas with agriculture. Only two methods are widely used to fix this; ion exchange and reverse osmosis (RO). These two methods are in fact only one method, because they need to be used in combination. For example, an ion exchange water softener needs to pretreat RO to keep the latter from fouling. RO used by itself will waste a lot of water. With ion exchange, it adds brine waste. To protect aquifers India is phasing out RO due to its excessive waste water. Fixing nitrate in a rurual town can easily cost more than $4K per capita. That is not a high economic bar to jump over for any new technology. Alternatives are urgently needed. As a matter of fact, very promising ones do indeed exist, in need of development. Anyone who wants to fix this needs to bear in mind that fixing a $4K problem for $40 will go over like lead balloon to people selling the $4K system. This is as much a governance problem as a technical one.
This paragraph says it all (“the region” is Rajasthan, described as a desert state in India),
Many pumps across the region no longer have access to water, as the underground rocks are dry down to 400 feet below ground, further than the pumps can reach. This has led to many pumps being abandoned and farmers once again facing water scarcity. Some farmers have purchased more powerful pumps, leaving poorer farmers to go without water or having to buy it from rich neighbours.
Above, commenter Paul Simmons offers the cold hard truth of it.
Recent news Solar device makes 20L drinking water a day from seawater with 93% efficiency
Farming ground water pumping is causing water and ground levels top drop up to four feet.
“Researchers found that the world’s most rapidly declining basins are in farm regions, especially drier areas like the San Joaquin Valley. Wells are drying out and land is sinking.”
https://calmatters.org/environment/2024/01/california-rapidly-depleted-groundwater/
https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/07/growers-kings-county-judge-blocks-groundwater-probation/
‘I won’t let them drink the water’: The California towns where clean drinking water is out of reach”
“Unsafe drinking water is a chronic, insidious and sometimes hidden problem in a state where attention more often focuses on shortages than the quality of the water. The failing systems are clustered in rural farm areas that have experienced decades of groundwater contamination. Many residents are afraid to drink tap water, or even bathe their children in it, relying on bottled water instead.”
https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2024/09/california-drinking-water-contamination/
I’d think that industrial water needs might be pushing individualized water collection. Just a guess. Clearly we need water engineering for all sorts a stuff.
I think solar-powered water pumps offer a poor solution for ensuring “sustainable and equitable water access”. How sustainable, resilient, and affordable are solar power and electric water pumps? Electric power offers flick-of-a-switch controllable convenience and solar-power is great, but are solar-powered water pumps really a best use of solar-power and money? Using solar-power to pump water sounds a lot like using solar-power to run an electric water heater. I would prefer to use what limited solar-power might be available to supplement the oil lamps and candles for lighting my house. Generating mechanical or heat power uses a lot of electricity. Solar-power relies on complex technology sourced from far far away. Solar-powered water pumps are not inexpensive in economies with weak currencies and little foreign exchange to spend on replacement parts. Ignoring for the moment, problems with managing a crucial commons like ground water, I would expect the provision of more locally produced pumps and their parts combined with simple wind or bicycle powered pumps would much more cheaply, robustly, sustainably, and affordably operate to provide more fresh water where it is needed. And do not forget repair, repurposing, and reuse of vehicle water pumps, washing machine pumps, and other scrounged pumps.
I noticed several commenters worried over the quality of the fresh water. There are basic water filtration and purification techniques fitted to what is locally available and affordable. I believe water purification, sanitation, and testing are places that deserve some of the thought and resources that might otherwise go into funding solar-powered water pumps. There are also issues with the ways that local methods for handling sewage and other wastes adversely affect the quality of ground water. I believe Joseph Jenkins made a convincing case in his book “Humanure” for rethinking the strong coupling between how a community handles its sewage and how it handles its drinking water.
Water for People (or some org like that) installed playground powered pumps in Africa back in the mid-oughts which I still think it’s a brilliant idea. The kids played on the equipment which turned a flywheel which turned a pump.
I really like the idea of the playground powered pump.
I am curious that rainwater harvesting gets no mention, or perhaps I missed it?
Far less extreme than harvesting dew.
The dry Southwest is only recently installing water collection systems. When I lived there the summer rains were torrential, and would have filled a tank in no time.
Having lived in rural New Zealand and now on an island where everyone relies on tank water, I can’t think why it is not a more prevalent solution.
Where there is no replenishing water supply water can still be delivered and stored in tanks. Probably not feasible for large apartments or commercial but other than that quite workable. Even then necessary would yield solutions.
Give the aquifers a rest, I say.
This is so engineering focused that, being a geologist, I see dollar signs. I’ve made a living being hired to correct engineer-related hydrogeological mistakes.
I agree with Mr. McDonald of the BGS that water is an equity issue (by that i don’t mean stock in Veolia). However pumping should not be the first consideration even though due to the sheer numbers of engineers it is. Stusustainability must be the first consideration when it comes to water. Not all groundwater is potable, and pumping one aquifer generally influences the others nearby. A lot of work needs to be done by geologists before any big pumps are planned, and running a Modflow model (engineer’s favorite!) is but a (n often unnecessary) fraction of that work.
I’ll stop here before I start my Ted talk.