Groundwater—from freshwater source to green energy: an overview from concern to solution

Water is probably the most inevitable substance for the survival of life on Earth. Though Earth has an infinite source of water, most of it is of no use since it is saline ocean water. Ignoring the water stored in continental glaciers, the only source of freshwater is groundwater. This resource is now under huge stress due to unplanned and over-use. Now the time has come to take groundwater management as a serious concern. Here, an attempt has been made to capture different issues of groundwater management, its applicability, and limitation in terms of the present state of research. This article discusses the feasibility of groundwater management in terms of groundwater quantity, artificial recharge to aquifer and groundwater quality both chemical and bacteriological. A holistic approach has been adopted to discuss technological advancements to address the groundwater management issues like desalination and membrane filtration, its limitations, and future scope of improvement. Thermal pollution of groundwater and its impact on saline water intrusion to coastal aquifers have been addressed in the discussion. The effect of global climate change on the hydrosphere and its impact on groundwater management have also been incorporated. One of the mitigations to global warming is exploring different sources of green energy. One of them and the most explored options is geothermal energy. The use of geothermal heat for electricity generation and space heating has also been included in the discussion with technological limitations which is always an open area of research.