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Ben Frech is the National Groundwater Association’s public relations and government affairs manager. He is the media contact and spokesperson for all NGWA matters.
He completed his bachelor’s degree in political science and government at Ohio University and has a certificate in nonprofit/public/organizational management from The Ohio State University. Prior to working at NGWA, he worked at Remington Road Group and the City of Cincinnati.
Dr. Peter Jaffé is a professor of civil engineering at Princeton University. He also serves as an associate faculty member at High Meadows Environmental Institute, Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment (ACEE), and Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM).
Dr. Jaffé earned his master’s of science and doctorate in environmental and water resources engineering from Vanderbilt University. His primary area of research includes pollutants in the environment and how to remediate contaminated systems. He is a prolific researcher and has published hundreds of journal articles in publications such as the Remediation Journal, the Journal of Nanoparticle Research, the Journal of Hazardous Materials, and the Journal of Geophysical Research.
To better understand the issues facing groundwater, it is necessary to understand what exactly groundwater is. According to Mr. Frech, “Groundwater is water that is stored in the subsurface in what we call ‘aquifers.’ These are underground storage pockets between sand and rock. Water comes in through rainfall or other surface water injection spots in the ground.”
Dr. Jaffé explains, “When water infiltrates down and it reaches a permeable layer, it builds up and all the pores are filled with water. Then, it flows downhill and can form large reservoirs of groundwater that you can put a well into and pull water out of. You can have water that is freely on top of an impermeable layer called an ‘unconfined aquifer.’ Or you can have two impermeable layers and water can be in between these layers called confined,” he says.
“Confined ones are typically much older groundwater and may be thousands of years old. They are usually less contaminated, because of the top impermeable layer they less likely to be exposed when you have a spill.”
While groundwater may not be visible, it is essential for everyday life in many places: “Around 40 percent of the world's water comes from groundwater. It is primarily used for fresh drinking water through private wells, as well as municipal water wells,” shares Mr. Frech. “It's very often used for agriculture too. Irrigation wells are a big usage of groundwater, especially in the western United States and around the world. Then there are also industrial uses for it. Certain manufacturing and that type of thing that uses a great amount of water will also use groundwater as well.”
Groundwater is particularly essential for rural communities, with an estimated 99 percent of rural populations relying on groundwater for their everyday use.
Groundwater faces several problems, not unlike many other natural resources we rely on.
“One of the problems is in terms of quantity. In California, it is being used too quickly so they're running out and they have to drill deeper. Eventually, when too much is being used, then it can’t be replenished,” says Dr. Jaffé. He offers a recommendation: “An intelligent way of using it would be to save it for when it's really needed—for when it's very dry—but then let it replenish. But water laws, especially out west, are extremely complicated, so it's hard to regulate.”
Other than quantity, the second most significant issue with groundwater is contamination. “In heavily industrial areas or urban areas that dispose of chemicals in the landfill or whatnot, chemical accidents can find their way to the shallow groundwater, and then people pump contaminated water out and use it for drinking water,” says Dr. Jaffé
Dr. Jaffé continues, “Today, we are very worried about PFAS in groundwater. You have places where firefighting foam is used to extinguish fires and it will trickle down into groundwater. Overall you can end up with lots of different pollutants. It doesn't only always have to be synthetic chemicals. In some places in the Midwest, such as Iowa, it is so heavily fertilized that a lot of nitrates in groundwater can get through to the drinking water levels and exceed drinking water standards.”
Bringing groundwater to the public’s awareness is critical. Undoing contamination of groundwater aquifers is expensive, time-consuming, and sometimes not even possible. Dr. Jaffé explains, “You have to protect groundwater water quality because the problem is that it moves so slowly. Once you contaminate it, you cannot wait for it to clean itself up like a river. Rivers can be more forgiving. If we contaminate the river, we can stop adding pollutants and they will be flushed away. Groundwater is moving very, very slowly, so it doesn't clean itself up as easily as moving surface waters. It should be used more intelligently than just using as much as you need to maximize your crop right now. At some point down the road, we'll be out of it.”
The first step that people can take, according to Dr. Jaffé, is “to be aware of the household chemicals that they use. If they dispose of them by throwing them down the drain or out the backdoor, then that will end up in the groundwater. Everything has to be disposed of properly.”
He further urges that people “need to understand that groundwater is a renewable resource, but it has to be allowed to be renewed. If we pump and pump and pump it, we'll run out of it. We need to look at it with a long-term perspective so that it remains constant.”
The National Groundwater Association, where Mr. Frech works, aims to advance the knowledge of groundwater. “We focus groundwater awareness on a few issues. One is water conservation, especially out west where you're seeing drought. Water conservation is something that no matter where you live, can have a positive impact on your water supply and on water quality,” says Mr. Frech.
Water conservation can help guarantee there can be enough water later on, and it can also ensure that the available water is cleaner. Mr. Frech explains, “we've seen a lot of evidence lately that, as aquifers get shallower, it takes more energy to pump the water up. This in turn brings in more contamination from the surface. So, it becomes not only a water access issue but the less water you have, the worse quality that water actually is.”
The one thing Mr. Frech wants people to understand about groundwater is “not to take it for granted. If you want to see a bleak future, look at one without groundwater. Any resource that is taken for granted is a resource at risk of being lost. Groundwater plays a vital role not only in our health or ability to consume clean drinking water, but also our economy or agriculture.”
With a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities in higher education, Kimmy Gustafson regularly contributes insightful articles to OnlineEngineeringPrograms.com, providing readers with a comprehensive view on the evolving landscape of engineering education since 2019. She has interviewed many engineering experts on a range of subjects, including geoengineering.
Kimmy has been a freelance writer for more than a decade, writing hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics such as startups, nonprofits, healthcare, kiteboarding, the outdoors, and higher education. She is passionate about seeing the world and has traveled to over 27 countries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oregon. When not working, she can be found outdoors, parenting, kiteboarding, or cooking.
