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Treasure trove of buried water shrinking away in many parts of the world

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 1355 words · By Tony Carnie
Environmental Sustainability Water Resource Management Global Food Security
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What to know about Environmental Sustainability

People have relied on buried reservoirs of clean, life-giving water for thousands of years.

Claims checked 27
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

People have relied on buried reservoirs of clean, life-giving water for thousands of years.

Why it matters

But there are limits to how much can be sucked out of the ground before the wells run dry – or other unpredictable problems emerge.

Common ground

Now, evidence of significant, long-term declines in groundwater levels across five continents has emerged in a review study by a group of Netherlands-based researchers, heightening concern about the unsustainable rate of the abstraction of water stocks in…

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-28-sa-draws-66-of-its-irrigation…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 27 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 17
info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
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Claim 1: “During the summer of 2017, groundwater levels reached historic lows in many parts of Sweden”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 2: “evidence of significant, long-term declines in groundwater levels across five continents has emerged in a review study by a group of Netherlands-based researchers”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm a study published in Nature regarding accelerated groundwater level declines globally, specifically mentioning declines in 30% of the world's aquifers and trends across various territories.
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web search NEUTRAL — Groundwater level declines have accelerated in 30% of the world’s aquifers, according to an assessment published in Nature. The declines were particularly pronounced in agricultural regions with dry c…
https://eos.org/articles/groundwater-levels-are-dropping-aro…
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers also compared water levels from 2000-20 to those spanning 1980-2000 in about 500 aquifers and found that groundwater declines had slowed in about 20% of them. In another 16%, trends re…
https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/groundwater-levels-fall…
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web search NEUTRAL — Accurate forecasting of groundwater levels is critical for sustainable water management, agricultural planning and flood mitigation. Traditional physics-based models, while grounded in hydrological pr…
https://www.nature.com/nature-index/topics/l4/machine-learni…
schedule
Claim 3: “In neighbouring New Zealand, a major aquifer system below the Canterbury Plains stores nearly 70% of the country’s total groundwater”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 4: “In the French city of Bordeaux (where deep aquifers supply 97% of the tap water)”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 5: “more than 600 sinkholes have emerged along the shoreline of the Dead Sea... due to intensive farm irrigation projects.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 6: “The High Plains Aquifer... supports about 20% of the nation’s corn, wheat and cotton production.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 7: “the city of Perth in Australia... the Gnangara aquifer system providing nearly 40% of the city’s drinking water”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 8: “the new registration period began on 24 April 2026 and would remain open for 90 days.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 9: “Mexico City... now home to 9.2 million people (with 21 million in the wider metropolitan area).”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 10: “nearly half of the world’s population still relies on groundwater as a primary drinking water source”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results provide statistics for the US population (40% rely on groundwater) but do not provide a global percentage to verify the 'nearly half of the world's population' claim.
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web search NEUTRAL — And arsenic levels in drinking water around the globe are now putting more than 140 million people in more than 70 countries at risk of lung disease and cancers.In the U.S, 50 percent of the populatio…
https://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/12/17/eco.about.w…
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web search NEUTRAL — Meanwhile, our drinkable water sources are finite: Less than 1 percent of the earth’s freshwater is actually accessible to us.Nearly 40 percent of Americans rely on groundwater, pumped to the earth’s …
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/water-pollution-everything-you-…
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web search NEUTRAL — PEMBROKE, N.H. — Approximately 71 to 95 million people in the Lower 48 states – more than 20% of the country’s population – may rely on groundwater that contains detectable concentrations of per- and …
https://www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/millions-us-…
info
Claim 11: “Underground water levels had dropped by about 2.6m in parts of the Pietersburg Plateau over the past two decades”
SINGLE SOURCE
While evidence confirms the existence of the Pietersburg Plateau and groundwater research in the region, the specific figure of a 2.6m drop over two decades is not corroborated by the provided search results.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Last Updated: 20-03-2019 9:04. Description Preview. Posted in Research Reports.← Learning and Teaching about water… Exploring the lowest appropriate level… →.
https://wrc.org.za/mdocs-posts/hydrogeology-of-groundwater-r…
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web search NEUTRAL — The NE-trending Pietersburg and Giyani Greenstone Belts extend parallel up to the southern part of the SMZ of the Limpopo Belt. The Murchison Greenstone Belts exists along a major ENE-WSW crustal line…
https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/25713/04ch…
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web search NEUTRAL — Accurately estimate groundwater recharge in South Africa's rural areas using ArcGIS method. Ensure sustainable water supply with optimal groundwater systems. Read now!Figure 4 shows the groundwater he…
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=10455…
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Claim 12: “Punjab State in India... about 63% of monitoring wells display declining trends, with an average groundwater level drop of about 20m over the past two decades.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 13: “At a global level, Igrac says boreholes supply roughly 40% of water for farm irrigation.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results to support or refute the claim that boreholes supply 40% of water for farm irrigation globally.
schedule
Claim 14: “In Hungary... about 72% of the monitored wells showed a declining trend.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info
Claim 15: “In parts of central Chile, almost 80% of monitored wells showed declining groundwater trends, with an average drop of 9m over the past two decades.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence discusses groundwater declines in Washington, Malawi, and Karnataka, but does not provide the specific 80% or 9m figures for central Chile.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program secured nearly $45 million in this year’s capital budget to build a new irrigation system. The project has so far eliminated the use of 16 wells and conserve…
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/08/09/eastern-washi…
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web search NEUTRAL — Between 1980 and 2009, Malawi experienced a consistent average annual groundwater loss of 0.59 km³, equating to nearly 0.1% of its total groundwater storage per year. The annual decline corresponds to…
https://smartwatermagazine.com/news/james-hutton-institute/s…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The district-wise groundwater level data taken during post-monsoon 2024 (November) in Karnataka indicated around 96% of the measured wells have shown water levels in the range of 0-10 metres below gro…
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/around-74-o…
schedule
Claim 16: “Mexico City, where 70% of the drinking water supply is drawn from wells at depths of up to 3km below ground level.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 17: “the High Plains Aquifer in the United States... nearly 81% of the wells showed declining trends (about 8m over 20 years)”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 18: “saltwater has intruded inland to threaten crucial freshwater supplies, such as Lake Mzingazi [in Richards Bay, South Africa].”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
help
Claim 19: “In South Africa, a report published by the CSIR estimates that the main users of local groundwater are irrigated agriculture (66%), mining (15%) and domestic water (13%)”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the search results regarding a CSIR report with these specific percentage breakdowns for South African groundwater use.
check_circle
Claim 20: “groundwater is polluted with sewage or by heavy metals from tanneries [in West Bengal, India]”
CORROBORATED
Evidence from Wikipedia and a specific research paper on arsenic pollution in West Bengal confirm that groundwater in the region is polluted by industrial effluents from tanneries and sewage.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bangaon is a city and a municipality of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Bangaon subdivision.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangaon
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Darjeeling (, Nepali: [ˈdard͡ziliŋ], Bengali: [ˈdarˌdʒiliŋ]) is a city in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darjeeling
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — West Bengal is a state in the eastern part of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal. It had a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of 88,752 km2 (34,267 sq mi) as of 2011. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Bengal
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 21: “more than half of wells in Southeast Sweden declining over the past 20 years.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
verified
Claim 22: “The study, led by hydrogeologist Dr Feifei Cao and colleagues at the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (Igrac), is based on data from roughly 42,000 monitoring wells in 47 countries, collected over the past 20 years.”
VERIFIED
A web search result from allAfrica.com explicitly confirms the study was led by Dr. Feifei Cao at Igrac, using data from 42,000 monitoring wells in 47 countries over 20 years. Other results confirm Dr. Cao's role and Igrac's function.
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web search NEUTRAL — The study, led by hydrogeologist Dr Feifei Cao and colleagues at the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (Igrac), is based on data from roughly 42,000 monitoring wells in 47 countrie…
https://allafrica.com/stories/202605290071.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Feifei Cao is a hydrogeologist with a Ph.D. in Hydrogeology and Geochemistry from the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne.
https://un-igrac.org/about-us/our-team/feifei-cao/
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web search NEUTRAL — IGRAC provides groundwater data, information, knowledge and wisdom to support decision-making on all levels.
https://uk.linkedin.com/company/igrac
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Claim 23: “Similar problems have been detected by the SA Medical Research Council in a recent study of residents in the Giyani area of Limpopo, an area known to have high environmental arsenic concentrations.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) found dangerous levels of arsenic in the drinking water of villages in the Giyani area of Limpopo.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) is an independent health and medical research institute in Adelaide, South Australia. The institute is housed in a purpose-built epo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Australian_Health_and_Me…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article contains A-Z tables of the incidence of intentional homicide in multi-municipal metropolitan areas and standalone municipalities with a predominantly urbanized population. It does not tak…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_in_world_cities
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is a para-statal medical research organisation in South Africa. The current president is professor Ntobeko Ntusi. The South African Medical Research …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Medical_Research…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 24: “In another part of Limpopo, the Igrac researchers also found a decline in groundwater levels in 57% of monitoring wells.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web search results for this specific claim are irrelevant (referring to Microsoft), meaning no external corroboration for the 57% figure in Limpopo was found in the provided evidence, though the Igrac study itself is real.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Explore Microsoft products and services and support for your home or business. Shop Microsoft 365, Copilot, Teams, Xbox, Windows, Azure, Surface and more.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us
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web search NEUTRAL — The Microsoft campus is the corporate headquarters of Microsoft Corporation, located in Redmond, Washington, United States, a part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Microsoft initially moved onto the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_campus
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web search NEUTRAL — Access and manage your Microsoft account, subscriptions, and settings all in one place.
https://myaccount.microsoft.com/
schedule
Claim 25: “over-abstraction has caused rapid groundwater level declines in 83% of the monitored wells [in Mexico City], at an average rate of 0.5m a year.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 26: “According to US Geological Survey studies, some wells [in the High Plains Aquifer] have dropped by up to 80m over recent decades.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
schedule
Claim 27: “Here [Perth], Igrac found a 64% decline in local well levels.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.