The Underground Update Vol.15 - June 2026
Search for groundwater correspondents, call for MAR Portal submissions and an interesting groundwater flooding story in Florida.
In volume 15 of the #UndergroundUpdate, we offer some interesting opportunities to our followers. In June, we are recruiting the new batch of Groundwater Correspondents, so you can apply till 30 June to become part of this volunteer storytelling programme. Meanwhile, we are calling on everyone working in the field of Managed Aquifer Recharge to submit new MAR sites to the MAR Portal. Then, we finish this newsletter with an interesting story from our US Groundwater Correspondent Jesse Ferraioli. In this feature article, she presents the ‘Sophie’s Choice’ that Florida is facing, choosing between saline intrusion and groundwater flooding. Scroll down and explore more!
Will You Be Our Next Groundwater Correspondent and Represent Your Country?
Join the Groundwater Correspondents Network
Are you just as passionate about groundwater as we are? Do you want to improve your storytelling skills? And do you want to represent your country? Good news! After launching the Groundwater Correspondents Network in 2023 with 16 correspondents, adding another 9 in 2024 and welcoming 20 correspondents in 2025, it is now time for the 2026 call for applicants. This is your chance to become one of the new groundwater correspondents!
What Do We Look For in a Groundwater Correspondent?
For the Groundwater Correspondents Network, we are looking for types of young professionals:
Groundwater Experts
You are currently working with groundwater;
You have good knowledge about relevant groundwater issues in your country or region;
You are eager to learn more about storytelling.
Journalists
You are working as a (freelance) journalist;
You are eager to learn more about groundwater and how to report on it.
What Will You Get in Return?
Although it’s a volunteer programme, your contribution is not for nothing. In return for your participation, you receive assistance in text and video editing as well as the creation of infographics. Everything needed to make your story even more compelling. In addition, you will receive the following:
6 Storytelling webinars per year;
2 Groundwater basics webinars;
A global platform for your stories;
Certificate of participation; and
Chance to win the Groundwater Story of the Year award.
Apply Now!
Will you join the next wave of applications? Send your CV and motivation letter to: correspondents@un-igrac.org.
In your motivation letter, please identify two stories from your country that you would like to tell if you would be selected.
Submit Your MAR Scheme to the MAR Portal!
And help the groundwater community
With groundwater issues emerging across the globe, managed aquifer recharge, also known as MAR, can often serve as an excellent tool for groundwater management. But which MAR technique is most suitable under which circumstances? To allow and encourage people to learn from the success and experience of others, we set up the MAR Portal, compiling MAR schemes from all over the world.
This global MAR inventory already contains 1,200 case studies from over 50 countries, but to get the complete picture we will need your help. Submit your MAR scheme to the MAR Portal and support the international groundwater community!
Find out how: https://un-igrac.org/latest/news/submit-your-mar-scheme-to-the-mar-portal/.
Sophie’s Choice Between Saline Intrusion and Groundwater Flooding in Florida
The tradeoffs shaping Florida’s groundwater levels and water future
Florida is the leading state in the United States for flood-related financial loss. For the latest fiscal year, no other state had as many payments as part of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Contrary to what you may think, Florida’s flood risk is not only a matter of increasing storm intensity, sea-level rise, and low-lying topography. In fact, to understand how Florida came to hold this title requires looking beneath the surface. It is also shaped by the state’s deep dependence on groundwater and the complex tradeoffs involved in managing it.
New data from ‘In-situ groundwater level monitoring reveals worldwide status, trends and impacts’ reveals that 44% of monitoring wells in the Floridan Aquifer System exhibit a rising trend in groundwater levels. Yet this apparent recovery obscures a more complicated picture. Because in reality, groundwater use across the state is rising and projected to continue rising, driven primarily by agriculture and increasing drinking water demands to keep pace with the state’s population growth.
Groundwater is a crucial source of drinking water in Florida. Groundwater makes up 63% of freshwater withdrawals in Florida and provides drinking water for approximately 92% of Florida’s population. These withdrawals draw from two main aquifer systems, the Floridan Aquifer System and the Surficial Aquifer System, which includes the Biscayne aquifer as its most significant component in South Florida. And while the Biscayne Aquifer is being depleted, the Floridan Aquifer System is showing a rising trend. An interesting contrast within the same state, but with very clear reasons.
Read the full story here: https://un-igrac.org/latest/stories/sophies-choice-between-saline-intrusion-and-groundwater-flooding-in-florida/.