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In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

arstechnica.com

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Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#3
When some aquifers are drained, they take many thousands of years to replenish, a heavy rain season doesn't really help with these depleted aquifers.

Here's a great video on Cody'sLab that explains how confined aquifers work and why they take so long to replenish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4iCgxsZX4

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#4

On the flipside the great lakes are nearly at an all time high. Maybe the growth in those places requiring deeper wells have exceeded what they can support?

The Great Lakes sources their water from glaciers melting. Too little and too much of a thing it’s still worrying.

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#5
If this were actually a serious issue, we would be discussing NAWPA again for real.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power...

The original blueprint used nukes to dig the trenches, but conventional explosives work just fine.

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#6
post #4

On the flipside the great lakes are nearly at an all time high. Maybe the growth in those places requiring deeper wells have exceeded what they can support?

The Great Lakes sources their water from glaciers melting. Too little and too much of a thing it’s still worrying.

The great lakes watershed isn't within 1000 km of a glacier. It's a snowpack and rainfall watershed.

The great lakes were created by receding glaciers, but it's been more than 10,000 years since they were glacier fed.

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#7
post #4

On the flipside the great lakes are nearly at an all time high. Maybe the growth in those places requiring deeper wells have exceeded what they can support?

The Great Lakes sources their water from glaciers melting. Too little and too much of a thing it’s still worrying.

Do you have a source for this? I thought they were sourced was almost all rainfall both directly into the lake and from the streams and rivers that surround them

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#8

On the flipside the great lakes are nearly at an all time high. Maybe the growth in those places requiring deeper wells have exceeded what they can support?

The Great Lakes aren't exactly the same as pristine aquifers suitable for drinking water...

https://www.usgs.gov/news/widespread-plastic-pollution-found..., https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/the-great-... etc.

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#9
post #3

When some aquifers are drained, they take many thousands of years to replenish, a heavy rain season doesn't really help with these depleted aquifers. Here's a great video on Cody'sLab that explains how confined aquifers work and why they take so long to replenish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF4iCgxsZX4

It even shows why some aquifers may never replenish. The layer of the aquifer is not tightly compressed and can hold water. When the water is released and the layer starts to compress from the weight from above, its ability to hold water is permanently diminished.

Re: In the US, wells being drilled ever deeper as groundwater vanishes

#10

If this were actually a serious issue, we would be discussing NAWPA again for real. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Water_and_Power... The original blueprint used nukes to dig the trenches, but conventional explosives work just fine.

> If this were actually a serious issue, we would

I fail to see how the choice of response (or not) determines seriousness of the issue. We've seen plenty of people stick their head in the sand in the past.

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