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What Should We Manage: Aquifers or Groundwater?

A hotly debated subject has emerged under the context of transboundary aquifers (TBA). When planning any type of arrangement to manage an aquifer spanning two or more jurisdictions, MoU, Minutes, legally binding agreements, etc., what should be managed—the aquifer or the groundwater flowing through the aquifer? Is there a trend of misunderstanding between the two terms? In the realm of hydrogeology, there is no dispute on the existence of clarity about the differences between groundwater and aquifers. However, this does not seem to be the case for the law and policy literature, which are strong components of any type of agreement to share a TBA. Most of the concepts relative to aquifers and groundwater are well known in physical and chemical hydrogeology, but when groundwater and/or aquifers traverse two jurisdictions, other factors, not the least the boundaries of aquifers, acquire a more complex meaning. Groundwater sciences need to imbed other interrelated aspects with TBA, such as cooperation, collaboration, social interaction, agreements, prejudices, asymmetries, shared management, and others. A new vocabulary, new concepts, and more accuracy in terminology have emerged over the last 20 years under ISARM (Internationally Shared Aquifer Resources Management). However, there are disagreements because cultural, political, economic, and social factors differ around the world. In addition to its natural boundaries, jurisdictional boundaries need to be added to the TBA. Two examples of contrasting conceptual definitions of aquifers are the Groundwater Bodies in Europe, and the Administrative Aquifers in Mexico. In the former, aquifers are defined by jurisdictional boundaries (subunits in river basins crossing jurisdictional borders); in the latter, aquifers are defined by administrative boundaries (delimited by basin aquifer boundaries, or state geographical boundaries within the country); in both cases