Annual Report 2024

A successful year for our organisation

The International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH/AIH) is a scientific and educational charitable organisation for scientists, engineers, water managers and other professionals working in the fields of groundwater resource planning, management and protection. Our mission is to further the understanding, wise use and protection of groundwater resources throughout the world.

We raise awareness of groundwater issues and work with national and international agencies to promote the use of groundwater to ensure ready access to safe drinking water. IAH promotes the protection of aquifers against pollution, the improvement of aquifer storage and the management of groundwater resources to assure the sustainability of groundwater-dependent ecosystems.

From our President

Dear IAH Members, Dear Colleagues,

A key event in our 2024 calendar was the Council elections, which occur every 4 years. Our current Council members were elected in September 2024. Firstly, I would like to thank Dave Kreamer, the previous IAH president, who did a tremendous job strengthening IAH’s leading position in the world of groundwater and who contributed to making the invisible visible. A big thanks to all the members of the previous Council, the Secretariat and of course to you who helped this happen.

IAH is registered as a charity in the UK, and to comply with UK banking regulations, additional UK-based non-executive directors, former senior personnel within IAH, have been appointed to IAH by the Executive Committee and Council. Our thanks go to John Chilton and Nick Robins for agreeing to support IAH in these roles.

The extensive range of activities in which IAH, its commissions and individual members took part during 2024 cannot all be listed due to the wide spectrum and number of them. However, I would like to highlight IAH’s World Groundwater Congress 2024 held in Davos, Switzerland, which attracted the highest number of participants ever, 1100 participants. The excellent organisation by the Swiss Society of Hydrogeology and the Centre for Hydrogeology and Geothermics at the University of Neuchâtel, and the high quality of the presentations given in a friendly atmosphere have made it a noteworthy IAH event. We were pleased to support the attendance of several IAH members from low-income backgrounds, and are currently working closely with the Australian organising committee to provide support for the IAH World Groundwater Congress 2025, to be held in Melbourne in September 2025.

At the end of 2024 Cliff Voss stepped down after 30 years of fantastic work as Executive Editor of Hydrogeology Journal, a hugely successful journal with high impact factor and excellent scientific publications. Thanks to Cliff for achieving this! Our journal remains in good hands and the continuity of good work started is guaranteed by Jean-Christophe Comte who has taken over. In addition to journal publications, I encourage all of you to contribute with new topics to our Technical Insight Series (TIS) publications, which aims to provide summary information for IAH members and groundwater professionals. The latest TIS: Co-Managed Aquifer Recharge (CO-MAR) was prepared with the collaboration of the IAH-MAR Commission. Your support in translating IAH’s Strategic Overview Series is also always welcome, so please let us know if you are willing to contribute.

I encourage everyone to join IAH’s commissions and networks, which not only provide the possibility to connect with hydrogeologists and groundwater related students and experts, but also helps in achieving IAH’s mission in advancing the knowledge, protection, responsible and sustainable use of groundwater.

Dr. Teodóra Szőcs