Conservation of groundwater by artificial recharge in Delhi and Haryana state of India – A review.

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT The water scarcity is one of the major issue which is yet to not solve completely and depletion of the water table has become a major problem across the world. Demands for water increases as our population grow. Though 75% of the earth is covered by water, only a small percentage of it is fit for human use. The excessive demand has put a strain on our water resources. In many areas groundwater, which makes about 20% of our fresh water supply, is being used extensively for a variety of human, agriculture and industrial use. The recharge rate is much less than the rate at which the water is being pumped out. This overexploitation has a lot of environmental effects which include degradation of water quality, reduced quantity of water in wells and springs, and land subsidence to name a few. In India the groundwater problem is more prominent in areas with a high agriculture economy, though it is high in urban areas also. The overexploitation in the National Capital Delhi has reduced the water table depth by a considerable amount in the last 5 years. Artificial methods to recharge the groundwater can be used to supplement our water resources. Different methods, based on the climatic and geographical conditions, can be used. In dry areas, for example, watersheds can and are being used to manage water resources. In this paper we have reviewed and summarized different studies to suggest a variety of methods to recharge groundwater. Artificial recharging of aquifer is one of the option, in order to improve groundwater crises which is sustainable in the long term. Some of the techniques are already been used and many could also be easily put in use by the villagers with local resources availability in terms of manpower and materials (www.megphed.gov.in). We have studied the groundwater recharge process in relation to the climatic and geographical conditions and make a list of pros and cons for different methods with secondary date available in literature. Moreover, in support of this we have also narrate the case studies of two states (Site–1 and Site–2) to explain the conservation of groundwater by artificial recharge. The overall efficiency of the methods used to artificially recharge groundwater have sufficiently explained.