The Impacts of Climate Change and Drought on Groundwater: Examples of Management Strategies

Date: March 29, 2022

ABSTRACT

Groundwater is a critical source of freshwater for drinking and irrigation. It is also important in sustaining streams, lakes, wetlands, and associated ecosystems. Changes in global climate are expected to affect the hydrological cycle, modifying surface water levels and groundwater recharge to aquifers, among other associated impacts. The management of groundwater resources under the coupled pressures of climate change and human activities is becoming a real challenge. Sound understanding of the functioning of groundwater systems and their interactions with interlinked external factors is an indispensable basis for informed management amid droughts and future climate change. This seminar addresses some examples of climate change impacts on groundwater, mainly from North America and North Africa, in addition to recent strategies that have been developed to keep groundwater sustainable.

SPEAKERS

Jason Gurdak, Senior Water Resources Specialist, Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water), California USA.

Dr. Jason Gurdak’s team at Valley Water sustainably manages three aquifer systems that help supply water to more than 2 million people, groundwater dependent ecosystems, and agriculture in Silicon Valley. Jason also leads Valley Water as a Groundwater Sustainability Agency under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in California. Jason has nearly 25 years of professional experience in hydrogeology and geochemistry. Most recently, he was a Professor in the Department of Earth & Climate Sciences at San Francisco State University, where he led the Groundwater and Water Resources research group. Jason co-led the UNESCO project Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC). He was also a Groundwater Hydrologist for over a decade with the US Geological Survey. Jason’s expertise includes climate change impact analysis, groundwater modeling, groundwater dependent ecosystems, contaminant fate and transport, and managed aquifer recharge. He has authored dozens of peer-reviewed papers, books, and technical reports, and is considered an international expert on climate variability and change effects on groundwater sustainability.

Sihem Benabdallah, Professor, Center for Water Research Technologies of the Borj Cedria S&T Park, Tunisia.

Prof. Sihem Benabdallah is a researcher at the Center for Water Research Technologies of the Borj Cedria S&T Park in Tunisia. Her research is focused on integrated water management, land use changes and environmental impact assessment in semi-arid areas. She was involved in several international projects as a coordinator and work package leader (CLIMB: Climate induced changes on the hydrology of Mediterranean basins; FP4BATIW: Fostering partnerships for the implementation of best available technologies for water treatment & management in the Mediterranean, WASA: Water saving in agriculture; and Capacity building for water integrity in the MENA region) and in several bilateral projects financed by AUF, SIDA and CIDA. She is a trainer, with the Swedish International Water Institute, on water integrity issues. Sihem is very active with the civil society as a member in two local associations (AED: water for development; REACT: Research in Action) and founding member of the Tunisian chapter of hydrogeology under the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH).

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