Assessment of village-wise groundwater draft for irrigation: a field-based study in hard-rock aquifers of central India

Ray, R. K.; Syed, T. H.; Saha, Dipankar; Sarkar, B. C.; Patre, A. K.

Assessment of village-wise groundwater draft for irrigation: a field-based study in hard-rock aquifers of central India | Evaluation des prélèvements d’eau souterraine pour l’irrigation à l’échelle du village: une étude de terrain dans les aquifères de socle du centre de l’Inde Evaluación de la explotación de agua subterránea para riego en aldeas: un estudio de campo en acuíferos de roca dura de la India central 乡村地下水灌溉用抽水评价:印度中部硬岩含水层基于现场的研究 Avaliação da explotação local de águas subterrâneas para irrigação: um estudo de campo em aquíferos cristalinos na Índia central

2017

Ray, R. K. | Syed, T. H. | Saha, Dipankar | Sarkar, B. C. | Patre, A. K.

Extracted groundwater, 90% of which is used for irrigated agriculture, is central to the socio-economic development of India. A lack of regulation or implementation of regulations, alongside unrecorded extraction, often leads to over exploitation of large-scale common-pool resources like groundwater. Inevitably, management of groundwater extraction (draft) for irrigation is critical for sustainability of aquifers and the society at large. However, existing assessments of groundwater draft, which are mostly available at large spatial scales, are inadequate for managing groundwater resources that are primarily exploited by stakeholders at much finer scales. This study presents an estimate, projection and analysis of fine-scale groundwater draft in the Seonath-Kharun interfluve of central India. Using field surveys of instantaneous discharge from irrigation wells and boreholes, annual groundwater draft for irrigation in this area is estimated to be 212 × 10⁶ m³, most of which (89%) is withdrawn during non-monsoon season. However, the density of wells/boreholes, and consequent extraction of groundwater, is controlled by the existing hydrogeological conditions. Based on trends in the number of abstraction structures (1982–2011), groundwater draft for the year 2020 is projected to be approximately 307 × 10⁶ m³; hence, groundwater draft for irrigation in the study area is predicted to increase by ∼44% within a span of 8 years. Central to the work presented here is the approach for estimation and prediction of groundwater draft at finer scales, which can be extended to critical groundwater zones of the country.

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