Groundwater provides drinking water for over two billion people around the world and is essential for irrigating 40 per cent of the world’s crops, as well as supporting many other industrial uses. Despite this, it continues to be poorly understood, lacks effective management and is subject to significant pollution pressures. As a result, it has become an unsustainable resource in many areas of the world, even though the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise water as being key to sustainable development. SDG 6 is to Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Water also underpins many of the other SDGs.
Evaluating the yield of a borehole at a BGS-run training course in Nigeria. © UKRI.
We have a long history of international groundwater research and developing tools for groundwater management. Our projects span a wide range of subject areas, reflecting our breadth of expertise and the range of issues facing many in the world. They include:
- mapping groundwater resources
- helping provide the tools and training needed to develop groundwater resources
- assessing and understanding natural groundwater quality issues and implications for health, such as fluoride and arsenic
- helping to monitor groundwater pollution and find ways to protect groundwater resources
- researching how groundwater resources are affected by droughts, changing land use and climate change
- working in interdisciplinary teams with socio-economists and political scientists to ensure that solutions are effective and sustainable
- collating and sharing data and information, e.g. Africa Groundwater Atlas
Some examples of our research are provided below but more can be found on our dedicated groundwater website.
Africa Groundwater Atlas and Literature Archive
The Africa Groundwater Atlas, compiled by the BGS, contains information of the hydrogeology of 51 African countries and provides links to a wider body of knowledge, including the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive. This archive is a searchable online database that catalogues nearly 7000 references for literature about groundwater in Africa, with thousands of links to free-to-download full text documents and abstracts.
The archive is funded by NERC’s UPGro research programme and the BGS National Capability programme.
The front page for the Africa Groundwater Atlas. © BGS.
The front page for the Africa Groundwater Literature Archive. © BGS.
Groundwater and health
We have been working with the charity WaterAid to characterise the quality of groundwater in the 28 countries around the world in which WaterAid works. Understanding natural groundwater quality is just as important as investigating pollution, as some natural constituents in the water, such as arsenic, fluoride and molybdenum, can be toxic and a risk to health. In recognition of this, the World Health Organization (WHO) has set limits for drinking water for these and a wide range of other substances.
Water sampling in Madagascar. © BGS.
We produced a series of water quality factsheets for WaterAid by country and by element. These are used to inform the siting of new boreholes and water supplies to minimise the risk to health and highlight where there might be health concerns from existing drinking water sources.
Documented problems with arsenic in groundwater (Smedley and Kinniburgh, 2013).
Smedley, P L. 2008. Sources and distribution of arsenic in groundwater and aquifers. In Arsenic in Groundwater: A World Problem. Appelo, T (editor). International Association of Hydrogeologists Publication 5, 4–32. (Utrecht, Netherlands: IAH.)
Contact
If you want to discover more then please contact Alan MacDonald.
Relative topics
Latest mineral production statistics for 2019 to 2023 released
28/04/2025
More than 70 mineral commodities have been captured in the newly published volume of World Mineral Production.
BGS talks at EGU 2025
25/04/2025
BGS will be attending the European Geosciences Union’s annual General Assembly giving a number of talks and presentations throughout the week.
Geology sans frontières
24/04/2025
Geology doesn’t stop at international borders, so BGS is working with neighbouring geological surveys and research institutes to solve common problems with the geology they share.
Isle of Arran announced as UNESCO Global Geopark
17/04/2025
The Isle of Arran has officially been named as the tenth UNESCO Global Geopark in the UK.
What does the next generation of coastal environmental models look like?
15/04/2025
A new tool is now available that has been designed to help coastal engineers and practitioners better manage the compound risk of coastal erosion and flooding.
Celebrating 20 years of virtual reality innovation at BGS
08/04/2025
Twenty years after its installation, BGS Visualisation Systems lead Bruce Napier reflects on our cutting-edge virtual reality suite and looks forward to new possibilities.
Making the case for underground hydrogen storage in the UK
03/04/2025
A new BGS science briefing note focuses on the potential of hydrogen storage to support the UK energy transition.
New data reveals latest mineral workings around Great Britain and Northern Ireland
01/04/2025
The newest release of BGS BritPits provides information on an additional 6500 surface and underground mineral workings.
Historical planning permission database
This dataset contains hand-drawn boundaries showing mineral related planning permissions and land use collated from the 1940s to the mid 1980s.
New seabed geology maps to enable long term conservation around Ascension Island
01/04/2025
BGS deliver the first marine geology and habitat maps for one of the World’s largest marine protected areas.
Exploring Scotland’s hidden energy potential with geology and geophysics: fieldwork in the Cairngorms
31/03/2025
BUFI student Innes Campbell discusses his research on Scotland’s radiothermal granites and how a fieldtrip with BGS helped further explore the subject.
New study reveals long-term effects of deep-sea mining and first signs of biological recovery
27/03/2025
BGS geologists were involved in new study revealing the long-term effects of seabed mining tracks, 44 years after deep-sea trials in the Pacific Ocean.
You may also be interested in
Africa Groundwater Atlas
The Africa Groundwater Atlas is an online resource providing an introduction to the groundwater resources of 51 African countries, and a gateway to further information.
Nitrate time bomb
Nitrate leaching from soils can have negative effects ecosystems and human health.
Resilience of Asian cities
Our research aims to improve city resilience by integrating geology into urban subsurface planning and urban-catchment science in India and south-east Asia
Groundwater challenges in India and Pakistan
We are reconstructing a century of groundwater level records in order to understand the long-term behaviour of groundwater in north-west India and Punjab in Eastern Pakistan.
Philippine groundwater outlook
The PhiGO project seeks to undertake assessments of population and climate change impacts on regional groundwater resources and translate these into usable forecasts of flood and drought risk.