Groundwater Management: Sustainability, Environment and Hydrogeoethics

The increasing importance of the environment at this time-only one Earth for all men-and the fact that waterthat is to say, the hydrological cycle-is perhaps the fundamental factor within the environment, heightens the relevance of the possible worsening or spreading of 'hydroschizophrenia' ." (M.R. Llamas 1975).Groundwater, the most prevalent source of liquid freshwater on Earth, is a unique reminder of the planet's diversity.It is a fundamental element that sustains natural systems and supports all life forms.Luijendijk et al. 1 point out that the impressive concept of fresh submarine groundwater discharge is necessary for nutrient inputs to marine biodiversity and ecosystems.Groundwater, a mostly hidden water cycle component whose surface manifestations have been mostly ignored, is often overlooked or misunderstood as having this pivotal role in society and nature.Such expressions at the land surface provide a necessary insight into the nature of the hierarchical movement and properties of groundwater flow, which are usually neglected in their expected interaction with societal actions (e.g., 2,3).Indeed, communities, decision-makers, and even water experts need to pay more attention to the central role of groundwater, minimising or ignoring its interlinks with the ecosystems, soil, landforms, climate, surface water expressions, and society in the global water cycle.Also, Custodio 4 recalls that groundwater systems constantly change and interact with physical, environmental, and socioeconomic systems, with various stakeholders pursuing their goals independently.Social ethics tackles the relationships connecting individual beings, and it has been a topic of discussion for a long time.Conversely, environmental ethics is a concept that has lasted for less than a century.Before, societies could not disturb Earth significantly (5).Llamas's 6 thoughts are topical in this scope: "Debates surrounding water resource management mirror broader debates of social ethics.The social context for the ethical questions concerning water tends to revolve around notions of water as a common good; water and its connection to human dignity and basic needs for life; water as a facilitator of well-being for people; rights and responsibilities toward water access; and the wealth-generating and development roles of hydraulic infrastructures and their ecological impact.".Custodio 4 states an impressive thought: "Ethics plays an important role in looking for feasible solutions that do not burden present and future generations more than necessary.This is still more important for developing areas, where poor understanding aggravates uncertainty, due to lack of data and insufficient knowledge.Lack of institutions and deeply-rooted myths regarding water make sound ethical decisions more difficult".There are not enough unbiased studies, especially when dealing with groundwater.Each interest group carries out studies about