Solving water problems requires new ways of harnessing dialogs, reflections, empathy, research, and visions. Too often, water policies and practices tend to take shortcuts, missing out on the benefits these powerful social learning processes can bring towards water justice and sustainability. The question is: How do we apply and nurture an interactive approach to implement water management decisions that benefit both people and the environment, now and into the future? Tackling this question requires a transdisciplinary, practice-focused, and policy-oriented approach to learning and governing, embracing the idea of coproduction of knowledge, practice, and policy. The first International Water Policy Lab (WPL) Champions' Forum was organized by the Institute for Study and Development Worldwide (IFSD), the

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The recent global upsurge in anthropogenic activities has resulted in a decline in the quality of water. This by extension has resulted in increased ubiquity of water pollution in terms of sources. The application of traditional water quality assessment methods usually involves the use of conventional water quality parameters and guideline values. This may be associated with bias and errors during the computation of various sub-indices. Hence, to overcome this limitation, it is critical to have a visual appraisal of the water quality in terms of source and human health risks exposure for sustainable water resource management and informed decision-making. Therefore, the present study has integrated multiple water quality assessment indices, spatio-temporal, and statistical models to assess the suitability of fifty groundwater samples (n = 50) within the Firozabad industrial area for irrigation and drinking; as well as the likely health risks from oral intake and dermal contact by inhabitants. Electrical conductivity (mean = 1,576.6 μs/cm), total hardness (mean = 230.9 mg/L), dissolved sodium (mean = 305.1 mg/L) chloride (mean = 306.1 mg/L) and fluoride (mean = 1.52 mg/L) occurred in the water at concentrations above the recommended standards; attributed influxes from agricultural and industrial wastewater. The pollution index of groundwater and water quality index revealed that 100% of the groundwater samples are extremely polluted; this was also supported by the joint multivariate statistical analyses. The majority of the irrigational water quality indices (sodium adsorption ratio, Kelly’s Ratio, permeability index, percent sodium) revealed that the long-term use of the groundwater for irrigation in the area will result in reduced crop yield unless remedial measures are put in place. Higher Hazard index (HI > 1) for nitrate and fluoride ingestion was recorded in water for the children population compared to adult; an indication that the children population is more predisposed to health risks from the oral intake of water. Generally, risk levels from ingestion appear to increase in the western and north-eastern parts of the study area. From the findings of this study, it is highly recommended that adequate agricultural practices, land use, and water treatment regulatory strategies be put in place for water quality sustainability for enhanced agricultural production and human health protection.

<p>Groundwater plays a vital role in improving the efficiency of natural water resource management and protecting and restoring water related ecosystems (SDG 6). Additionally, understanding the importance of groundwater for general public and proper management of the interactions between surface waters and their underlying aquifers is a prerequisite to maintaining their cultural and ecological value and services.</p><p>Nowadays, decisions around groundwater in Australia are out of the reach of the general people owing to a lack of awareness and technical knowledge within the field. By including people in the decision making process through an integrated groundwater surveillance platform, communities will be empowered to contribute to the resilience of water resources, safeguarding them for future generations (SDG 11).</p><p>This abstract introduces and proposes a program that is designed to raise awareness and involve the public in groundwater distribution. By using the simple concept of groundwater flow direction and interactions with surface water features, individuals can monitor and report the abnormal flow of water that may affect surface water resources. This will also enable people to raise questions about local water management plans, promoting the sustainable management of natural water resources.</p><p>The program will have a direct impact on regions suffering from the degradation of surface water features that may relate to insufficient groundwater discharge. It also serves as a preventative measure, protecting groundwater storage in regions that heavily rely on groundwater. To sum up, groundwater is a crucial link of water cycle and the sustainable management of groundwater can lead to efficient water management and improve water usage sustainability.</p>

Groundwater exploitation (borehole drilling) was carried out around Awka and environs in Anambra State, Southeastern Nigeria, to understand the underlying rock units encountered while drilling, differentiate boreholes with confined aquifers from those with unconfined aquifers, delineate the probable aquiferous zones from the borehole data, evaluate the challenges encountered while drilling (both geologic and technical), and identify mitigation measures employed to address these challenges. Detailed geologic log information of the boreholes was produced to illustrate the rock units encountered while drilling. Four rock units were identified, namely: shale, sandstone, clay, and gravel. These rock units were exposed within the Imo Formation and the Nanka Formation that underlie the study area. Results from the geologic log information of the boreholes indicate that the water table within the study area ranges from 11.2 m to 56.5 m from the soil surface, and the probable aquiferous zones vary from 6.8 m to 23.3 m in thickness. A detailed look at the lithologic logs of the boreholes show that 50% of the drilled boreholes possess confined aquifers while the remaining 50% have unconfined aquifers. A careful appraisal of the challenges encountered, which are mainly geologic, is strictly attributed to the geologic formation of the study area. Other technical challenges have been derived from mechanical faults developed during drilling.