Quality groundwater essential to global development

The 6th International Association of Hydrological Sciences Groundwater Quality Conference 2007 (GQ07) features a program of over 300 international scientists working in the field of groundwater quality, meeting for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere, giving local scientists unprecedented access to a wealth of international learning.

‘Mankind’s relationship with groundwater is confused,’ says CSIRO scientist and conference Chair Dr Greg Davis.

‘While we increasingly depend on it for our very survival in developed and developing nations alike, our urban and industrial activities involve routine and detrimental impacts to the quality of our groundwater reserves.’

‘With industrial development driving the economies of developing nations throughout the world, global need for clean groundwater resources has never been more pressing,’ Dr Davis says.

The conference theme is Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments, and will focus on the need to sustain, repair and protect groundwater quality in urban and industrial settings.

Groundwater — water found beneath the ground in soil pore spaces and fractured rock formations — comprises about two-thirds of the world’s freshwater resources. It can be a conduit for movement of contaminants through the environment, and is susceptible to impact from climate variability.

The topic is particularly relevant to West Australians, with 60 per cent of potable supplies coming from groundwater sources, much of which is drawn from regions with agriculture, industry and urbanisation occupying their recharge areas.

GQ07 seeks to address the issues around urban and industrial groundwater quality from a range of perspectives, and will feature keynote addresses from leading international researchers, including: Suresh Rao (Conference Keynote) of Purdue University, USA reviewing groundwater quality science, Larry Barber of the US Geological Survey talking about the fate of consumer product chemicals in the subsurface environment, James Barker from Canada’s University of Waterloo discussing the emergence of ethanol as a chemical of concern.

GQ07 runs from 2 to 7 December 2007 and will be launched this Monday 3 December at 8:30 AM by the Hon John Kobelke MLA, Minister for Water Resources (WA) at the Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle.

Source: CSIRO