Groundwater Exploitation

Groundwater is a natural replenishable resource. It is an important source for various purposes, including drinking, irrigation and industrial, due to insufficient surface water supply and frequent failure of monsoon. Identification of groundwater zones depends upon many factors such as distribution of rainfall, runoff, grain size of soil, topographic features, type of landform, drainage conditions, lithological characteristics, land use practices, depth to groundwater level and environmental constraints, which are not uniform in any area. 

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This report by Central Ground Water Board presents a compilation of case studies on rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge and impact of such measures in ameliorating problems related to groundwater. Groundwater caters to the demand of ever growing domestic, agricultural and industrial sector of the country and is being indiscriminately exploited by several users. On the other hand, rapid urbanization and land use changes has resulted in reduced natural infiltration or recharge of aquifers.

This has led to various problems related to quantity and quality and issues like the decline in water levels, depletion of groundwater resource and quality deterioration. There is thus an imperative need for augmenting the valuable groundwater resource. Artificial recharge and roof top rainwater harvesting is one such method that can revive this precious resource. Several traditional and scientifically proven artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting techniques have been adopted in different parts of the country. These structures have proven to be viable option for augmenting the groundwater aquifers by making use of surplus surface runoff.

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This paper by the Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy attempts a reality check on the ‘miracle growth’ in Gujarat’s agricultural production by looking at the gross value of the outputs from agriculture over a reasonably long period of time. The agricultural ‘growth’ seen in the recent past in Gujarat is nothing but a good recovery from a major dip in production occurred during the drought years of 1999 and 2000, because of four consecutive years of successful monsoon and bulk water transfer through the Sardar Sarovar project. The real ‘miracle growth’ in Gujarat’s agriculture appears to have occurred during the period from 1988 to 1998.

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Green Systems has prepared this report on the possibilities of creating a system for the recharge of groundwater for the Devi Ratn Hotel in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The proposal is an in-depth study of the geo-morphological setup of the area; there are also findings on geology and hydrology and the area's climate and rainfall and groundwater resources.

The final proposal is based on these findings and consists of a series of diagrams that not only suggest the design of various recharge structures but also their placements around the hotel site.

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