Meadow Center for Water executive director pens new book on groundwater sustainability use, solutions

As Texas comes out of its 13th driest year on record, water and managing the state’s finite water supply is a pressing concern. A new book authored by Robert E. Mace, executive director for The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, provides a detailed overview of groundwater sustainability and explores solutions to address unsustainable groundwater usage.

“Groundwater accounts for nearly 26% of the water used by humans and unfortunately much of it is produced unsustainably, causing declining water levels to many groundwater systems across the globe,” Mace said. “My hope is that this book will serve as a resource and inspiration for both practitioners and regulators about options for better management and conservation of this precious resource.”

Published by the Springer Publishing Company as part of Palgrave Studies in Environmental Sustainability Series, the book, “Groundwater Sustainability: Conception, Development, and Application,” takes a deep dive into groundwater sustainability is and how its definition has changed over time. The book also explains why traditional assessments of sustainability are wrong and why achieving it is difficult once groundwater pumping exceeds sustainable levels of pumping.

The book provides a background of hydrogeology relevant to groundwater sustainability and presents numerous case studies from the United States and across the globe to demonstrate where sustainable management has failed and succeeded.

Quoting from an abstract for the book, 'Groundwater is a critical source of water to the world, and for good reason— it is often accessible, abundant, and affordable. Groundwater now supports 26 percent of human water use, about 982 cubic kilometers per year with 70 percent for irrigation, 21 percent for domestic uses, and 9 percent for industrial use. Unfortunately, much of the groundwater produced to support human activities has been produced unsustainably.'

Unique in its accessible, non-technical approach, the publication serves a resource for academics, students and practitioners. Academics will find the book useful for its discussions of management concepts, the political realities of trying to achieve groundwater sustainability and the practical aspects of aspiring to and achieving sustainable production. With questions and additional reading materials included at the end of each chapter, the book can also be used as the basis for teaching a course or as a class supplement.

Practitioners will find the book useful for its non-technical explanations of the sciences, discussions of the nuances of defining sustainability in aquifers and the presentation of case studies where sustainable management has failed and succeeded.

To learn more about the publication, visit https://link.springer. com/book/10.1007/9783-031-13516-3. To view more titles in the Palgrave Studies in Environmental Sustainability Series, visit https://link.springer. com/series/15680.

The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University was named following a generous gift from The Meadows Foundation in August 2012. The Meadows Center inspires research, innovation and leadership that ensures clean, abundant water for the environment and all humanity.