Groundwater as Shadow Water: From Aquifers to Markets

• In Event: Plumbing the Depths: Towards a Deeper Understanding of Groundwater

Abstract

Beginning in the late nineteenth century, the large-scale exploitation of groundwater resources was driven by the emergence of transnational markets and the rise of regional specialization, and specifically by the intensification of agricultural and pastoral production in the semi-arid regions of the world. Over the past century, an exponential increase in groundwater use has been driven by external demands for water-intensive products, from strawberries and soy to wool and beef. As those commodities travel through transnational economic networks, they are shadowed by the vast volumes of unreplenishable water that went into their production, and by the complicated social, political, and environmental costs of that water’s extraction. This paper borrows from the field of economics and the concept of “shadow prices,” redefining extracted groundwater as “shadow water” and shedding light on the inextricable link between its large-scale use and the rise of global capitalism.

Author

• Sarah Hamilton, University of Bergen