Articles | Volume 28, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1605-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-1605-2024
Opinion article
 | 
11 Apr 2024
Opinion article |  | 11 Apr 2024

HESS Opinions: The unsustainable use of groundwater conceals a “Day Zero”

Camila Alvarez-Garreton, Juan Pablo Boisier, René Garreaud, Javier González, Roberto Rondanelli, Eugenia Gayó, and Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini

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Cited articles

Ahmadi, M. S., Sušnik, J., Veerbeek, W., and Zevenbergen, C.: Towards a global day zero? Assessment of current and future water supply and demand in 12 rapidly developing megacities, Sustain. Cities Soc., 61, 102295, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102295, 2020. 
Alvarez-Garreton, C., Mendoza, P. A., Boisier, J. P., Addor, N., Galleguillos, M., Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Lara, A., Puelma, C., Cortes, G., Garreaud, R., McPhee, J., and Ayala, A.: The CAMELS-CL dataset: catchment attributes and meteorology for large sample studies – Chile dataset, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5817–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5817-2018, 2018. 
Alvarez-Garreton, C., Boisier, J. P., Billi, M., Lefort, I., Marinao, R., and Barría, P.: Protecting environmental flows to achieve long-term water security, J. Environ. Manage., 328, 116914, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116914, 2023a. 
Alvarez-Garreton, C., Boisier, J. P., Blanco, G., Billi, M., Nicolas-Artero, C., Maillet, A., Aldunce, P., Urrutia-Jalabert, R., Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Guevara, G., Galleguillos, M., Muñoz, A., Christie D., Marinao, R., and Garreaud, R.: Seguridad Hídrica en Chile: Caracterización y Perspectivas de Futuro, Santiago, https://www.cr2.cl/seguridadhidrica/ (last access: 1 December 2023), 2023b. 
Alvez, A., Aitken, D., Rivera, D., Vergara, M., McIntyre, N., and Concha, F.: At the crossroads: can desalination be a suitable public policy solution to address water scarcity in Chile's mining zones?, J. Environ. Manage., 258, 110039, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.110039, 2020. 
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This opinion paper reflects on the risks of overusing groundwater savings to supply permanent water use requirements. Using novel data recently developed for Chile, we reveal how groundwater is being overused, causing ecological and socioeconomic impacts and concealing a Day Zero scenario. Our argument underscores the need for reformed water allocation rules and sustainable management, shifting from a perception of groundwater as an unlimited source to a finite and vital one.