Groundwater

Featured Articles
October 17, 2022
Invisible informal groundwater markets
While informal groundwater markets cater significantly to the needs of smallholder farmers in India, they continue to be unacknowledged and understudied.
Groundwater, a finite resource (Image Source: TV Manoj via Wikimedia Commons)
July 5, 2022
Poisoned waters, threatened lives
Studies reveal that children are the most vulnerable to the health risks associated with groundwater contamination due to nitrate and fluoride, highlighting the need for urgent remedial measures.
POisoned waters, dangerous outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
April 26, 2022
Making the invisible, visible
The water stewardship initiative by WOTR that developed a tool to visualise aquifers has not only helped farmers understand groundwater as a shared resource, but also led to a behavioural change among water users and helped implement groundwater laws and policies.
Groundwater, a fast disappearing resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
February 13, 2022
Poisonous encounters, fatal outcomes!
A study provides new evidence that drinking water contaminated with arsenic can lead to still births, recurrent pregnancy loss and infertility among women.
A well in Rajasthan (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 29, 2021
Poisoned waters, deadly outcomes!
A study shows that high arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bihar is linked with increase in cancer cases. Districts located near the Himalayan river basins have more people with cancer.
Drinking water in Bihar, linked to cancer (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 26, 2021
Poisonous encounters: Nitrate contamination of groundwater in Rajasthan
This study from Rajasthan found that anthropogenic factors led to nitrate contamination of groundwater. High nitrate levels in drinking water posed major health risks to children.
A well in Rajasthan (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Draft National Policy 2012 seems to help only vested interests, not the farmers or the environment says SANDRP
National water policies are extremely important legal and institutional tools as they reflect the basic intent and direction that the government is planning to take regarding water resources.
SANDRP
Posted on 01 Feb, 2012 09:18 PM

Source: SANDRP
Draft of the National Water Policy 2012 released by the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) on 31st January 2012 invites comments from the general public till 29th Feb 2012
The Draft National Water Policy 2011 was released on 31st January 2012, for public comments and is available here.
chicu
Posted on 01 Feb, 2012 02:01 PM

A section of the water sector practitioners and experts, have been engaged in the process, and a summary of the discussions so far, is available here.
Strengthening quality monitoring to provide safe drinking water: Common treatments and analyses
The latest techniques that can be utilized to ensure provision of safe drinking water are described here.
Ravi Savant
Posted on 30 Jan, 2012 10:59 AM

Author : Ravi Savant
Contextualising urban water supply in a changing environment: India Urban Conference, November 17-20 2011
The India Urban Conference (IUC) was organised to encourage multi-level dialogue regarding India's urban transformation.
AP Tiwari
Himanshu Kulkarni
LS Ganpati
Malini Shankar
Manjunath Prasad
Meera Mehta
M Sekhar
Pavan Kumar
Sudhakar Rao
Vishwanath S
Posted on 30 Jan, 2012 09:21 AM

It aimed to set the challenges faced by urban planners in the current economic, socio-political, and ecological landscape. This would enable informed and negotiated choices on urban development. The stated objectives of the conference are as follows:
Saving some last remaining free flowing rivers
Parineeta Dandekar writes about the novel conservation reserves on Kali, Bedthi and Aghanashini in the Western Ghats.
Parineeta Dandekar
Posted on 24 Jan, 2012 06:38 AM

Guest post by: Parineeta Dandekar
Tank irrigation in Karnataka: A historical survey
Tank irrigation in Karnataka, authored by GS Dikshit, GR Kuppuswamy, SK Mohan, and first published in 1993, provides a historical overview of this ancient method of water management.
GR Kuppuswamy
GS Dikshit
SK Mohan
Posted on 24 Jan, 2012 06:12 AM

The book covers entire eras from the ancient to the current period. It also gives information about the structural, financial and institutional aspects of tank construction and management.

The full book is available for download on the India Water Portal. Please right-click on the cover page image of the book, and select 'Save link as', to download the full book.

Right-click this image, and select 'Save link as', to download the full book - Tank irrigation in Karnataka - A historical survey

Liquid Dynamics: Rethinking sustainability in water and sanitation
This paper by Lyla Mehta highlights the various interactions around water.
Lyla Mehta
Posted on 20 Jan, 2012 06:55 PM

This paper begins with the slow rate of progress in achieving the millennium development goals of environmental sustainability, especially in the areas of water and sanitation. This is due to the disconnect between the global rhetoric (which often focuses on water as an economic good) and social realities (such as the cultural attitudes towards water)

cover illustration of Liquid Dynamics showing two girls in a paddy field

Evaluation of physico-chemical characteristics in groundwater using GIS – A case study of Chinnar sub-basin, Cauvery River, Tamil Nadu, India
This study uses GIS to assess the potability of groundwater and the spatial variation of groundwater parameters in Chinnar sub-basin, Tamil Nadu.
M Elangomannan
M Suresh
M Vijay Prabhu
S Venkateswaran
Posted on 20 Jan, 2012 04:26 PM

The study found that the groundwater of the basin is extremely hard with total hardness, magnesium and potassium contents being above the permissible limits. Thirty nine out of 57 samples exceed the allowable limits for fluoride.

location map of Chinnar sub-basin and spatial distribution of ground water

Groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality in and around Bangalore city - Department of Mines and Geology (2011)
This report by the Department of Mines and Geology describes the findings of a study on urban groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality in and around Bangalore city.
Department of Mines and Geology (Government of Karnataka)
Posted on 19 Jan, 2012 11:04 AM

Earlier studies carried out by the Department of Mines and Geology during 1994, 1995 and 2003 on the groundwater quality of Bangalore Metropolis had found that the groundwater pollution in the city has mainly been due to sewage disposal and recommendations have been made to prevent pollution from sewage and industrial wastes.
Dynamic groundwater resources of Karnataka (2009)
This report by the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka and the CGWB provides information on groundwater resource available.
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
Department of Mines and Geology (Government of Karnataka)
Posted on 16 Jan, 2012 11:05 PM

It also presents the status of utilisation of groundwater in Karnataka as on March 2009, both on watershed (sub catchment) and taluk wise areas having 2008-2009 as the base year. The methodology is improved as the estimations are carried out on watershed basis for both command and non command separately than apportioned to taluks.
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