Bad wells tend to get excluded from studies on groundwater levels, a problem that could skew results everywhere monitoring is used to decide government policies and spending.
Researchers at the University of Waterloo uncovered the problem while examining a discrepancy between scientific data and anecdotal evidence in southern India.
Reports on thousands of wells and satellite images taken between 1996 and 2016 suggested groundwater levels were rising, good news in an area where it is vitally important for agriculture.
At the same time, however, fieldworkers were hearing more stories from farmers about wells running dry, suggesting levels were actually declining.
Read more at University of Waterloo
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