Rising Temperature Could Make Groundwater Too Hot, Undrinkable in the Next 76 Years [Study]

Global warming will affect our water supply, and the continuous temperature rise could make groundwater undrinkable in less than 80 years.

Hot Temperature Will Make Water Undrinkable

A new study by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) suggests groundwater could be undrinkable within the next 76 years. They concluded based on their projections of two climate scenarios considering greenhouse gas concentrations (SSP 2-4.5) and socioeconomic trajectories ( SSP 5-8.5).

The study predicted that groundwater temperatures would rise to 35.78 degrees Fahrenheit in one scenario and 38.3 degrees Fahrenheit in the other by the year 2100. An increase in groundwater temperature may also increase the concentration of dangerous elements like manganese or arsenic.

Dr. Susanne Benz of the Institute of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing at KIT said the study calls for taking action to save groundwater. She noted that the increase of harmful elements with the rise of groundwater's temperature would harm health if groundwater is used for drinking.

The expert added that water quality is significantly impacted by chemical, biological, and physical processes influenced by groundwater temperature. Warmer groundwater affects river thermal regimes, aquatic biogeochemical processes, groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and geothermal energy potential. It also jeopardizes biodiversity and the carbon and nutrient cycles.

By 2100, several hundred million people could be impacted, depending on the circumstances. About 30 million people already reside in areas where the groundwater is warmer than what is recommended by the strictest drinking water recommendations.

This implies that drinking untreated water is not safe. Groundwater may need to be boiled to make it drinkable, and heat from the Earth also warms the drinking water in water pipelines.

Based on various demographic patterns and climatic changes, the research indicates that 2100 SSP 2-4.5 might affect 77-188 million people, whereas SSP 5-8.5 could affect 59-588 million people.

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Water Shortage Amid Increased Demand

To provide insight into this issue, researchers from the Department of Physical Geography at Utrecht University investigated reactions to sectoral water use during heat waves, worldwide droughts, and compound (combined) disasters. Their research indicates that heat waves have a bigger impact on sectoral water use than droughts.

Water used for home purposes, agriculture, livestock, manufacturing, thermoelectric power, and other purposes is referred to as sectoral water usage. Droughts, heat waves, and complex occurrences impact consumption; they may induce people to consume more or less water or not respond at all to these hydroclimatic extremes.

Data on sectoral water usage over the last 30 years at the international, national, and municipal levels was analyzed. The analysis shows that during the past thirty years, extreme events have significantly impacted water usage patterns; nevertheless, the specific repercussions have significantly varied by industry and region globally. Furthermore, heatwaves and coupled drought-heatwave events have a more significant overall impact on water demand than droughts alone.