INVITATION TO JOIN US AT GROUNDWATER 2009

The biennial conferences have become the key meeting point for groundwater professionals to share recent experiences, successes and mistakes, and catch up with their colleagues in groundwater. We created the theme Pushing the Limits so that all relevant and current issues relating to the limits of groundwater management and research in Southern Africa can be told. These include issues limiting our understanding of resource development and depletion, groundwater and the environment, climate change, scarce skills and more.

CONFERENCE THEMES

The brain drain - making do with limited skills
Pollution and remediation - working with water quality limits
Understanding and uncertainty - working with limited data
Awareness and publicity - pushing the message across or extending the limit of understanding
Groundwater and environment - debating the limits
Sustainable development - assessing aquifer yield limits
Case studies - overcoming limits to get the job done
Hydrogeochemistry and isotopes - pushing the limits of science

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr Tony Turton holds a Professorship at the University of the Free State in the Centre for Environmental Management. He is also a director of a company called TouchStone Resources that is positioning itself in the market to manage water and energy as a flux. This has a strong geothermal element, which links to groundwater.

"In Southern Africa, given our high levels of evaporative losses, I can see little alternative but to consider managed groundwater recharge as a major strategic initiative. This will need a substantial investment into the groundwater community in terms of skills, money and partnerships."

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Recently I was searching for a theory to explain and interpret data our group at the University of the Western Cape had measured in the field. After about three weeks of hunting through journals, I had to abandon the search and revert to the fundamental equations of 1936 - almost nothing had been done on the subject in 70 years!

I have often found myself in a position where I had to give a comment, answer or conclusion within the limits of theory, measuring equipment, data and resources. These limits seemed to be a universal problem amongst the committee members when we first discussed a theme for the conference, and Pushing the Limits was born.

On behalf of the organising committee I would like to invite you to the 2009 Groundwater Conference for which we are putting together a programme to help us push the limits to the challenges we face every day. See you at the Lord Charles on 16 November 2009!

Jaco Nel