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Discoveries of aquifers — underground earth formations
that hold water — often create excitement around their ability
to ease water scarcity in a region. The United States recently
announced the discovery of five aquifers in Niger, one of
Africa’s most water scarce countries, containing over 600
billion cubic metres of water. To put it into perspective, Egypt’s
current water demand is 114 billion cubic metres of water per
year.
These are welcome announcements. Due to a changing
climate and the increasing demands of a growing population,
many of Africa’s surface water resources — such as dams
and rivers — are facing serious risks. They’re being overused
and slowly decreasing.
Alternative water sources, like aquifers, need to be
explored. They are highly prevalent across the African
continent, but they’re not always going to help address
water scarcity. For instance, early research findings deemed
Kenya’s Turkana aquifer water unfit for use due to high
salinity. It’s important to bear these challenges in mind so that
expectations can be managed. It is also useful for planners
and governments, as they need to think of other ways around
the water scarcity problem.
(Gaathier Mahed. https://theconversation.com, 21.03.2023. Adaptado.)
In the excerpt form the third paragraph “It is also useful for
planners and governments, as they need to think of other
ways around the water scarcity problem”, the underlined word
can be replaced, without meaning change, by
