India’s Falling Groundwater Storage Being Replenished (Study)
Published by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
For the first time, researchers from India and abroad have given positive confirmation on the replenishment of groundwater storage at the regional scale.
“Our study shows a recent paradigm shift in Indian groundwater withdrawal, and management policies for sustainable water utilisation have probably started replenishing aquifers by increasing storage in western and southern India,” said research lead Abhijit Mukherjee from IIT-Kgp. Image source: The Indian Express
India’s groundwater storage, which had been falling steadily in recent years, is now being replenished according to researchers from IIT-Kharagpur and NASA. The dwindling supply of groundwater in India has been of great concern in recent years, with almost 60 per cent of the country being regarded as water stressed.
For the first time, researchers from India and abroad have given positive confirmation on the replenishment of groundwater storage at the regional scale.
A research team from IIT-Kharagpur in collaboration with NASA scientists have reported replenishment of regional-scale groundwater storage (GWS) through long-term (1996-2014).
The researchers used more than 19,000 groundwater observation locations, ground-based measurements and decadal-scale (2003-2014) satellite-based groundwater storage measurements.
“Our study shows a recent paradigm shift in Indian groundwater withdrawal, and management policies for sustainable water utilisation have probably started replenishing aquifers by increasing storage in western and southern India,” said research lead Abhijit Mukherjee from IIT-Kgp.
In parts of western (Gujarat) and southern (Andhra Pradesh) India, groundwater storage has been decreasing at the rate of -5.81±0.38 km3/year (1996-2001) and -0.92±0.12 km3/year (1996-2002) respectively. But this was reversed to replenish at the rate of 2.04±0.20 km3/year (2002-2014) and 0.76±0.08 km3/year (2003-2014), respectively.
Groundwater, Image Source: Max Pixel
Read full article: The Indian Express
Tags
Category: Academic
- Resource Management
- Groundwater
- Drought
- Access
- Consumption
- Water Resource Management
- Groundwater Recharge
- Groundwater Assessment
- Groundwater Mapping
- India
5 Comments
very good approach and paradigm shift
Published by NARENDRA KUMAR BHANDARI
It is really good sign. However we must find out the root cause, so as to enable us to implement at other places also.
Published by Dr. Padmakar Kelkar, CEO at Bright Stars Electronics
It is really a very positive information. The stage of groundwater development in AP is 46 % and for Gujarat is 75 % . It is quite a good achievement for Gujarat state which is becoming semicritical. Being a hardrock area groundwater recharge is quite low. How storage being replenished? One reason could be over the years rainfall has increased because of that natural recharge has increased and draft has been reduced. Any other significant factors please share.
Published by Mausumi Raychaudhuri, Principal Scientist at ICAR - Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar, India.
How much? And what were the factors?
Published by Rasheed Ahmad, Watershed Manager
Good to hear. Other reports had been very pessimistic.
Published by Matthew Crowhurst, Energy and Water industry Process and Project Professional