A Demanding Future in the Hydrologic Sciences: International Collaborations and Incorporating the Social Sciences

When considering groundwater research focused on sustainable water supply in a developing region such as western Africa, questions that need to be addressed range from long-term variation in precipitation, to geochemical alteration of natural and anthropogenic contaminants, to development of management strategies that are consistent not only with technology but also with social and religious customs. While some may view these projects as 'service', these types of projects provide fertile ground for new technical and policy advances in the study of groundwater resources, with results that may provide substantial new insights to technological and policy issues in the United States. Research questions that might be addressed include impact of long-term uncertainties in climate, integration of data time-series of variable frequency and quality, measure of the value of a groundwater resource, integration of technical and social constraints on management strategies, and integration of multiple views of water as a resource. In addition, these types of projects provide opportunities for active collaboration with colleagues from other countries who view research in hydrology quite differently than do many of our colleagues in the United States. It is therefore argued that there is a demanding, challenging future for advances in the hydrologic sciences focused on sustainability issues in regions of the world for which groundwater is a critical resource limiting development.