As
part
of
the
Water
Institute's
WaterTalks
lecture
series,
John
Cherry,
Distinguished
Professor
Emeritus,
Department
Earth
and
Environmental
Sciences,
University
of
Waterloo,
Leader
of
the
Groundwater
Project,
Recipient
of
the
2020
Stockholm
Water
Prize
and
Lee
Kwan
Yew
Water
Prize,
2016
presents:
Groundwater
is
the
Key
to
a
Sustainable
Earth.
WaterTalksThis
event
will
be
offered
in
person
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
Theatre
of
the
Arts,
Modern
Languages
Building.
3:30-4:00
p.m.
Doors
Open
4:00-5:00
p.m.
Lecture
5:00-6:30
p.m.
Reception
More
information
The
concurrent
deterioration
of
freshwater,
soil,
forests
and
oceans,
compounded
by
climate
effects,
has
put
Earth
on
a
perilous
trajectory.
Anthropogenic
greenhouse
gas
emissions
are
perceived
as
the
overarching
threat,
but
this
distracts
us
from
what
is
more
essential
to
survival
in
the
shorter
term.
Our
focus
should
be
freshwater,
groundwater
in
particular,
because
99%
of
freshwater
is
groundwater.
Freshwater
is
diminishing.
One
third
of
the
planet’s
largest
aquifers
are
already
depleted
beyond
recovery
within
centuries.
Because
70%
of
global
irrigation
relies
on
groundwater,
the
depletion
of
aquifers
puts
global
food
security
in
jeopardy,
at
the
same
time
as
soil
productivity
is
shrinking
partly
due
to
irrigation-induced
salinization.
Technological
solutions
available
to
the
most
affluent
nations
may
overcome
these
issues
and
ensure
clean
water
and
food
for
a
small,
privileged
segment
of
the
global
community.
The
most
urgent
water
crisis
affects
the
more
than
2
billion
people
who
live
in
water
poverty.
This
number
is
growing
as
global
population
is
forecast
to
rise
from
8
to
10
billion
in
the
next
50
years.
Most
water
poverty
is
rural
and
the
only
hope
for
eradicating
water
poverty
is
the
drilling
of
tens
of
millions
of
properly
constructed
wells,
mostly
small
household
wells,
along
with
household
rain
harvesting
and
point-of-use
treatment.
Attempts
are
being
made
to
reduce
water
poverty
but
the
rate
of
drilling
in
rural
areas
is
too
slow
to
reverse
the
trend.
To
solve
rural
water
poverty,
the
wells
only
need
to
be
small
and
drilled
with
lowest
cost
methods;
these
wells
will
not
be
capable
of
depleting
aquifers.
Each
well
need
only
pump
a
few
thousand
liters
per
day
for
drinking
and
sanitation
for
each
family
or
family
cluster.
Of
course,
many
factors
are
behind
today’s
environmental
crisis,
including
rising
greenhouse
gas
emissions,
but
freshwater—and
therefore
groundwater—is
most
fundamental
and
urgent
because
it
is
the
most
basic
requirement
for
humans,
along
with
food.
Unfortunately,
there
is
little
public
or
political
awareness
of
groundwater
and
the
capacity
of
the
expert
groundwater
community
in
most
countries
to
solve
groundwater
problems
is
limited.
The
Groundwater
Project
(gw-project.org)
is
an
innovation
aimed
at
increasing
awareness
and
providing
a
framework
for
capacity
building
and
problem
solving,
but
many
other
innovations
are
urgently
needed
to
reverse
the
trajectory.
The
Groundwater
Project
(GW-Project),
established
in
2017,
is
a
Canadian
non-profit
charitable
organization
that
aims
to
raise
groundwater
consciousness
and
strengthen
groundwater
expertise
worldwide.
Since
2017,
we’ve
published
27
original
books
with
11
more
books
near
completion;
Over
1000
well-recognized
scientists
and
practitioners
(including
retirees)
have
volunteered
as
authors,
translators
and
reviewers.
These
contributors
are
associated
with
over
220
organizations
throughout
the
world.
Key
to
the
mission
of
the
GW-Project
is
fostering
rapid
dissemination
of
knowledge
and
learning
tools
to
universities
everywhere
including
those
in
developing
countries
so
that
those
with
inadequate
teaching
resources
for
comprehensive
groundwater
education
can
direct
students
to
synthesized
knowledge
at
a
high
global
standard.
Currently,
the
GW-Project
is
working
with
114
translators
(volunteers),
translating
18
books,
into
41
languages
including
French,
Spanish,
Italian,
Portuguese,
Arabic,
Farsi,
Greek,
Hungarian,
Vietnamese,
and
several
local
African
languages.
Emphasis
is
on
overcoming
inadequacy
in
knowledge
and
technical
resources
for
improved
access
to
safe
drinking
water
globally
in
both
remote
rural
areas
and
large
urban
centers,
as
well
as
on
understanding
and
avoidance
of
contamination
of
Earth’s
groundwater
resources.
Speaker
bio
Dr.
John
Cherry’s
research
pioneered
the
field
of
“contaminant
hydrogeology”.
He
holds
geological
engineering
degrees
from
the
University
of
Saskatchewan,
University
of
California
Berkeley,
and
a
PhD
in
hydrogeology
from
the
University
of
Illinois.
He
joined
the
faculty
at
the
University
of
Waterloo
in
1971
and
retired
in
2006
as
a
Distinguished
Professor
Emeritus.
He
co-authored
the
textbook
“Groundwater”
with
R.A.
Freeze
(1979)
and
co-holds
several
patents,
is
a
Fellow
of
the
Royal
Society
of
Canada,
a
Foreign
Member
of
the
U.S.
Academy
of
Engineering.
He
was
the
Chair
of
the
Canadian
Expert
Panel
on
the
environmental
impacts
of
shale
gas
development.
He
has
received
awards
from
the
USA,
UK,
Switzerland,
Canada,
Singapore
(Lee
Kuan
Yew
Water
Prize,
2016),
IAH
President’s
Award
(2019)
and
the
2020
Stockholm
Water
Prize.
He
is
currently
a
Principal
Investigator
at
the
G360
Institute
and
Project
Leader
for
the
Groundwater
Project
(gw-project.org)
a
project
aimed
at
democratizing
groundwater
education
globally.
He
is
the
Director
of
the
University
Consortium
for
Field-Focused
Groundwater
Contamination
Research.