This report by the Central Ground Water Board entitled ‘Ground Water Quality in Shallow Aquifers of India’ is an outcome of the follow up of one of the important recommendations of the second meeting of the Advisory Council on Artificial Recharge to Ground Water during September 2007. It attempts to summarize various aspects of groundwater quality in the shallow aquifers in the country with special reference to six parameters viz. salinity, chloride, arsenic, fluoride, iron and nitrate.

The quality aspects of groundwater in the country is being monitored by the Central Ground Water Board through a network of about 15,500 groundwater observation wells, from which samples are collected and analyzed during the month of May every year. Groundwater quality data is also being collected by the Board as part of its other activities such as groundwater management studies, exploratory drilling programme, special studies on water quality etc.

This report is the compilation of the enormous data collected during various studies of CGWB over the last several years. Maps demarcating water quality ‘hot spots’, where the concentrations of these parameters are in excess of the limits prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for drinking water use, form an important part of this report.

This report helps in improving the understanding of the quality aspects of groundwater resources and will be a valuable guide to planners, policy makers, administrators and all other stakeholders alike for optimal development and management of this precious resource.

Download the report here: