One Word vs. Two

Perhaps you've heard, the USGS is now officially using "groundwater" as one word, instead of two. The change is in response to the widespread use of the term as one word, and is an attempt to create a single convention for the word. This move has been met with approval from some, and resistance from others.

In my introduction to groundwater at the USGS as a green hydrologic technician (two years ago), I learned that the debate between ground water and groundwater was an intense one. As an earth science student with mediocre training in hydrology, I was baffled by the debate. Whenever I was writing about ground water, I often had to ask my boss whether it should be two words or one (or hyphenated) so that the wrath of senior hydrologists would not be visited upon me later for making such a serious mistake.

I'm not sure that I understand the reason that some people find this to be such a heady issue, other than the fact that they have used ground water for most of their hydrological career. I am an unbiased party, having no particular attachment to one word or two, and as a person who prefers to have one common, standard way of reporting things, I am pleased that the USGS has come to the decision to standardize this word in a way that coincides with much of the rest of the hydrological world.