Groundwater

Featured Articles
October 17, 2022 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 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 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 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 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 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)
#SparkTheRise Twitter conference on ‘Water sustainability - A key to our future’, by Mahindra and Ashoka India
Mahindra Rise and Ashoka India jointly organised a three-hour global Tweetchat on the topic on Thursday March 7 2013. Priya Desai reports. Posted on 07 Mar, 2013 11:03 AM

Mahindra Rise Ashoka India

Budget 2013: Highlights from the water sector - Roundup of the week’s news (February 25- March 3, 2013)
Roundup of the week’s news is presented below - Posted on 04 Mar, 2013 05:31 PM

Budget 2013: Highlights from the water sector

Mapping potential groundwater zones using remote sensing and GIS techniques
This is a project study done by Seenivasan to know the availability of groundwater using GIS techniques. Posted on 01 Mar, 2013 11:43 AM

Author: K.M.Seenivasan

Review of the Draft Rajasthan Lake Authority Bill 2013
This a broad review of the draft The Rajasthan Lake Development Authority Bill, 2013. Posted on 27 Feb, 2013 01:12 PM

The draft Bill can be requested from the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, Government of Rajasthan. The draft Bill through discussion at the state assembly may be amended into an ‘Act’. Following is broad review of the draft Bill. For detail review by the author, you may ask the author at: mansee@edc.org.in.

Strategies for achieving environmental sustainability in rural development - A report by United Nations Development Programme
This report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presents strategies for inclusive rural development embodying the principles of environmental sustainability. Posted on 23 Feb, 2013 10:22 AM

This report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) presents strategies for inclusive rural development embodying the principles of environmental sustainability. It recommends measures needed to achieve green, including measuring and tracking, the use incentives and the building of capacities. It also contains a number of case studies showing how green results can be achieved.

Anthropogenic activities leads to deterioration of groundwater quality: A study of Mayyanad and Edamulakkal panchayats of Kollam district in Kerala
Kerala is a rain blessed state in the country, but due to its slanting topography there is significant decline in the ground water levels leading to severe water scarcity. This paper sheds light on groundwater quality issues in two panchayats of Kerala Posted on 22 Feb, 2013 10:07 AM

Kerala is a rain blessed state in the country. It has highest  number of wells, when compared with other states. However due to its slanting topography there is significant decline in the ground water levels leading to severe water scarcity during summer months in most districts of the state. Further over extraction and dependence of groundwater for domestic use from the dug wells especially in rural pockets has resulted in several groundwater problems. In this backdrop the paper in  The Ecosan- An International Quarterly Journal of Environmental Science, sheds light on groundwater quality issues in two panchayats of Kerala.

Some strategies for managing groundwater by Aditi Mukherji, IWMI
Groundwater is essential for India's agricutural economy. In her blog 'Waterscapes', Aditi Mukherji discusses the need for regional strategies to manage groundwater economy. Posted on 22 Feb, 2013 09:53 AM

Groundwater is essential for India's agricutural economy. However, there is a large variation in the groundwater resources of each region. Some regions are already over-exploited, while others can still tolerate more withdrawal. In her blog 'Waterscapes', Aditi Mukherji discusses the need for regional strategies to manage groundwater economy.

Dealing with arsenic in rural Bihar - Evaluating the successes and failures of mitigation projects
Arsenic is a toxin that is commonly found in the ground water of shallow aquifers in the Ganges River Delta.This research focuses on the social and economic factors that influence the successes and failures of different arsenic mitigation projects and will provide a strategy on how to handle the arsenic issue in the upcoming years. Posted on 21 Feb, 2013 11:51 PM

Article Courtesy: Delft University of Technology

Author(s): Matthijs Brouns, Merijn Janssen, Andrew Wong

Assessing the land use change and its impact on water resources: A study on the Mula and Mutha rivers catchment area in Pune
Analysing the changes in land uses between 1989 and 2009, this paper assesses the impact on water balance in Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of the city of Pune Posted on 17 Feb, 2013 09:11 PM

Land use changes  hydrologic system and have potentially large impacts on water resources. An assessment in an area with seasonally limited water availability and which is subject to rapid socio- economic development and population growth will provide an exemplary view on the local impacts of major recent developments in India. In this backdrop this paper analyzes past land use changes between 1989 and 2009 and their impacts on the water balance in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of Pune. The aim of the paper is:

  • assess the land use changes between 1989/1990 and 2009/2010
  • analyze the impacts of these changes on the long-term water balance components in the Mula and Mutha Rivers catchment upstream of the city of Pune.

Influence of anthropogenic contamination on fluoride concentration in groundwater: A study of Mulbagal town, Kolar district, Karnataka
Groundwater contamination is a serious, but relatively ignored issue in the country. This contamination occurs in either through geogenic or anthropogenic means. This paper analyses the Fluoride contamination, one such example of geogenic contamination, widely found in the Kolar district of Karnataka. Posted on 15 Feb, 2013 04:53 PM

Groundwater contamination is a serious, but relatively ignored issue in the country. This contamination occurs in either through geogenic or anthropogenic means. Fluoride contamination is one such example of geogenic contamination that is widely found in the Kolar district of Karnataka. However, the fluoride levels in the town of Mulbagal are lower than those in the surroundings. Earlier, a study was conducted on the impact of pit toilets on the groundwater in the area. The present paper investigates the presence of any link between these two phenomena.View of Mulbagal Town, Kolar District, Karnataka