Asserting that groundwater science and research “has fallen through the cracks” of federal funding and support, a panel of scientists who advise the president on science and technology has agreed to forward to the White House a report on the state of groundwater resources that emphasizes the need for increased federal support for groundwater research.

“Groundwater science has fallen through the cracks, and the federal government could help its reemergence,” said Steven Pacala, a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), and who participated a presentation of the draft report—“Groundwater Security in the United States”—at a PCAST meeting held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 1, 2024.