CONCLUSIONS - Hydrogeology: Objectives, Methods, Applications - page 317

5 THE HYDROGEOLOGIST OF THE FUTURE:
CARETAKER OF GROUNDWATER
The 19th century saw the birth of modern hydrogeology, concerned with
the problems encountered in digging wells in porous aquifers. During
the 20th century, immense progress was made in the understanding of
aquifers and in groundwater study and exploitation methods. At the dawn
of the 21st century, the challenge of providing good quality water to an
exploding world population is giving rise to new problems, which extend
far beyond the physical setting of the aquifer. The concept of management
is being imposed on an aquifer, basin, country, or even portion of continent
(in the case of the Saharan zone) scale. Humans are moving from water-
gathering to water cultivation. The hydrogeologist is transforming from an
aquifer specialist into a caretaker of groundwater. Faced with qualitative
and quantitative problems, in societies where demand, mindsets, and
regulations are constantly evolving, the hydrogeologist must rapidly adapt.
In order to do so, he or she can rely on the mathematical, computational,
physico-chemical, geological, biological, and technological tools of this era.
But each domain is also a specialization, and as in medicine, specialization
to an extreme poses the risk of inducing errors in judgement. A global
and pluri-disciplinary approach becomes a necessity. The highly capable
hydrogeologist in a particular narrow fi eld must nevertheless be able to
appreciate and understand, at least in part, the whole problems to which
he or she is confronted, including social and political problems that will
shape his or her actions. The hydrogeologist can then call on the appropriate
experts to refi ne his or her work.
We have attempted, in this topic, to offer a very large vision of
hydrogeology, and the reader will understand that each topic addressed is
worthy of an entire volume.