MOBILIZING SUSTAINABLE GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT WITH BIG DATA (Invited Presentation)

Groundwater depletion is a complex problem that raises fundamental questions about solutions. Data themselves are not the solution, but they help us understand processes – human behaviors that influence demand or physical processes that inform supply – and can provide insights in how to best manage groundwater. This talk focuses on the results of a five-year endeavor to record construction details of millions of groundwater wells. The research highlights the tremendous amount of data available from agencies across the world and the value of stitching this data together to provide a local understanding of groundwater at continental scales.