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Groundwater tipped to give politicians greater headaches in future

Answers are needed for groundwater problems
Answers are needed for groundwater problems Keystone-SDA

Researchers from all over the world agreed that groundwater will become an issue in politics and society in the near future. The World Groundwater Congress ended on Thursday in Davos with a particularly strong domestic presence.

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Researchers explained to the media in Davos that the important questions for the future of groundwater research are clear. To answer them, however, more research and more data are needed in all sub-disciplines, they emphasised.

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If there are problems with groundwater, this will also be the case in Switzerland in the coming years to decades, said James Thornton from the University of Bern.

In Switzerland, groundwater is particularly important as it supplies 80% of drinking water, added Philip Brunner from the University of Neuchâtel. It is by far the most important drinking water reservoir in the world. “The importance of groundwater is on the rise,” he said.

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