Groundwater Photo Book

The importance of groundwater cannot be overstated. And while many people live in groundwater depleted regions, it is very difficult to show this problem to a wider audience. The fact is, that this resource is confined to the underground, and as such invisible to people. As a result, the real challenge to a photographer or journalist – indeed to all of us in the water sector – is then how to present it.

At Water Science Policy, we figured that we can change that. As a non-profit platform for multilingual, open-access journalism and science-communication, we decided to do our part and launched a Groundwater Photostory Competition.

This is part of our mission to make water content freely accessible to everyone - using as many languages and mediums as possible. And visual storytelling is one of the most impactful ways to truly connect with others and bring faraway problems to our readers’ hearts, break down scientific problems and make the unseen seen.

The Photo Book will also feature forewords from leading groundwater researchers from the University of Oxford, University of Glasgow and British Geological Society, links to audio versions of the different stories and illustrations that help explain why groundwater matters to all of us.

The Photo Book will deliver an inclusive, journalistic journey at the intersection of science and art.

The goal of this project is to make the invisible visible and raise awareness (and interest!) for the importance of groundwater and the problems that affect billions around the world: accessibility, contamination and overextraction of groundwater. Awareness and interest are the first ingredients to improve water services, connect the unconnected, protect water resources and entire ecosystems.

We believe that storytelling is one of the best ways to reach and touch policy-makers. Make them and the public interested in a topic - not just aware. Because stories are about people. And policy should be all about better lives for people. And safe and affordable water, which often comes from the underground, is the very basis of such better lives. We hope that this unique Photo Book contributes at least a little bit towards the achievement of SDG6 and all the other SDGs that depend on it.

To do so, we launched a photostory competition which received many contributions from around the world. With this campaign, we want to produce a photo book to honour the amazing photography that we received, tell people's groundwater stories from around the world and share it with as many people as possible.

We had an overwhelmingly positive response across countries, sectors and age groups. And many of the submissions had a greater impact on us than yet another groundwater-related report or paper. That is because we were able to relate and connect to others through some truly amazing photo stories. On a very personal level, they helped us comprehend that protecting groundwater is the only solution for many people who lack access to safe and affordable water services - and that this resource is crucial to the survival of entire ecosystems.

You should support this project if you enjoy great photography, stories, water and the environment. Your support will help a young and volunteer-run NGO set a precedent for producing an independent Photo Book that makes the unseen seen, gives emerging photographers an opportunity for greater visibility and the many volunteers at Water Science Policy a fun and meaningful project to work on.

The money will go to the production costs of the Photo Book, i.e. primarily the layout, copy-editing, printing and shipping. We also aim to equally remunerate all photographers that are featured in the book.