ABSTRACT
Groundwater mining is defined as the extraction of ground water from aquifers by humans. This definition is analogous to that concerning the mining of mineral resources. There is, however, a fundamental difference between groundwater mining and the mining of minerals. Groundwater is, in most cases, a renewable resource. On the other hand, mineral resources, such as silver and gold ores, are non-renewable. Groundwater is a renewable resource because it is replenished naturally by fluxes that arise in the hydrologic cycle. The sum of the fluxes that replenish ground water is called recharge. During periods of plentiful precipitation, and in the absence of human intervention, aquifers are replenished by recharge. During droughts, groundwater storage and groundwater levels decline due to low levels of recharge. There are also groundwater deposits of ‘‘fossil’’ ground waters that have become isolated from the hydrologic cycle. These deposits resemble in many respects oil reservoirs. One important shared characteristic is that extraction of the resource, be it ground water or oil, produces an irreversible reduction in its stock. Continued mining of such fossil deposits leads to their eventual depletion.
