Finding Groundwater

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December 4, 2019 The 2015­-2018 drought, the longest, but less severe of droughts experienced by India raises alarm on the negative effects of future droughts on water security in the country.
India will see more droughts in the future. (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
October 25, 2019 Groundwater use has doubled in Pune. Comprehensive mapping of groundwater resources and better management and governance is the need of the hour.
Groundwater, an exploited resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
October 1, 2019 Deconstructing the traditional narrow engineering based policy discourses around floods and droughts and connecting them to social and cultural realities is the need of the hour in India.
Water talk Series at Mumbai (Image Source:Tata Insitute of Social Sciences)
September 30, 2019 The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all.
Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
September 28, 2019 Groundwater, drawn at rapid rates from peri-urban areas of Hyderabad is now turning into a commodity, controlled and distributed by a few, to meet the needs of the urban elite.
Groundwater in Hyderabad, in peril (Image Source: India Water Portal)
September 25, 2019 Making false doomsday claims of a water crisis could support problematic mega solutions, which could lead to more problems.
India's demand for water will exceed supply by a factor of two by 2030, as per a NITI Aayog report (Image: Vinoth Chandar, Flickr Commons (CC BY 2.0))
Science to beyond science - to govern groundwater sustainably
Modelling or divining are two different methods used by scientists and farmers to trace groundwater availability in Tamil Nadu and can play an important role in sustainable management and governance of groundwater in the state. Posted on 26 Apr, 2023 01:16 AM

The state of Tamil Nadu depends heavily on groundwater for domestic, industrial, and agricultural use and this has led to rapid depletion of groundwater resources in the state.  Over-extraction in hard, arid rock areas like the districts of Dharmapuri and the alluvial Cauvery delta is very high and farmers continue to drill deeper wells.

Groundwater practices in Tamil Nadu (Image Source: India Water Portal)
Assessing Udaipur’s groundwater reserves
A study using geospatial techniques suggests the need to regulate groundwater abstraction for long-term sustainability of groundwater use Posted on 29 Oct, 2022 03:21 PM

Population increase has placed ever-increasing demands on the available groundwater resources, particularly for intensive agricultural activities.

here are various methodologies involved in evaluating groundwater reserves. (Image: Needpix)
Young woman's work is impacting Odisha villages
Urmila, a young woman's earnestness has brought a major shift in the mindset of a remote village in Odisha. She is bringing about a change in the way communities approach their shared natural resources, one village at a time. Posted on 28 Oct, 2022 01:36 PM

The sound of a specific cycle bell deep inside the jungles of Kashinathpur village in Angul (Odisha) brings vibes of joy. Everybody recognises that bell because it belongs to 24-year-old Urmila Bahera who sometimes cycles to villages as far as 15 kilometres, braving bumpy roads, streams and elephants.

Urmila engaging children on local bird diversity (Image: FES)
Groundwater prospective zones in Bundelkhand
Integrating geographical information systems and remote sensing for delineation of groundwater potential zones in Bundelkhand region Posted on 22 Oct, 2022 08:07 PM

In the Bundelkhand craton region, groundwater is the primary source of drinking water. Due to low rainfall, agriculture mainly depends on the goundwater supply, which comes through bore wells. Most of the time, the region faces a water crisis during the summer season as the wells and tube wells go dry.

Numerous studies have been performed worldwide in which remote sensing data is used to delineate the groundwater potential zones (Image: India Water Portal Flickr)
Scientific closure of abandoned bore wells
How to plug or decommission an abandoned or defunct bore well to prevent contamination in the nearby productive wells Posted on 22 Jul, 2021 01:58 PM

Why de-commission defunct or failed bore wells?

Well decommissioning is necessary to permanently fill in and seal a well to eliminate the well as a source of water (Image: Asadwarraich, Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 4.0)
Digital tool to monitor groundwater
Women in Rajasthan use a groundwater monitoring tool to record water levels and promote water literacy Posted on 28 Feb, 2021 09:41 AM

According to a 2006 report by the Inter-Agency Task Force, titled ‘Gender, Water and Sanitation’, women’s participation in water governance projects is important for their success. Given the gendered division of labour in our society, it is not hard to see why.

Women use an open source groundwater monitoring tool that enables collection of water level data of wells and its collation on a web platform for easy access by all. (Image: FES)
Groundwater recharge needs grassroots solutions: A study of two techniques in Kerala
Although groundwater is emerging as a critical issue and has managed to encourage new government schemes, a generic solution of rainwater recharge cannot be applied across different regions. Posted on 09 Oct, 2020 12:42 PM

In Kerala, around half the urban population and 80% of the rural population depend on open wells on their domestic water needs. But in the last decade, the majority of observatory wells recorded an average annual decline of half a meter.

Rainwater is captured from the rooftop of the community hall and diverted to the sump before it is pumped into the open well. (Image by Authors)
Where does the water in a well come from?
In the water sector, the focus on fixing demand and supply is taking us away from the real problem - the unnoticed groundwater dependencies in ever-expanding urban India. Posted on 29 Sep, 2020 12:58 PM

The environment versus development debate has increasingly become more polarised, with discussions in the public domain revealing a stark contrast of views. Development has increasingly come to symbolise ‘doing something’ and ensuring ‘visible outputs’, largely in the form of infrastructure.

An open well in Maharashtra (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos) Image used for representational purposes only.
Understanding Atal Bhujal Yojana through the program guidelines
The program envisages promoting panchayat led groundwater management and behavioural change with a primary focus on demand-side management. Posted on 10 Aug, 2020 03:59 PM

Groundwater fulfills the drinking water requirements of nearly 85% and 50% of the rural and urban Indian population, respectively. 65% of the total irrigated area utilizes groundwater. It also caters to the water needs of the industrial sector in India.

Community participation is expected to facilitate bottom-up groundwater planning process to improve the effectiveness of public financing and align implementation of various government programs on groundwater in the participating states (Image: Water Alternatives, Flickr Commons)
Need to protect the unique geological features in the Upper Ken basin
An attempt to document the geological features, water potential, and traditional wisdom around them in the Upper Ken basin. Posted on 07 Jun, 2020 12:52 PM

Kathayi, a scheduled tribe (ST) dominated village in the midst of the forested stretches of Shahnagar block in Panna district faces acute water scarcity during the 3-4 summer months. Through the government schemes, three wells and two hand pumps were installed in this 75 household village in the last 10-15 years, but most of them are dysfunctional now.

Panghata Kund in village Aloni, Panna (June 2014, after initial monsoon) (Image: Seema Ravandale)
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