Haryana uses mapping tech to trace groundwater

NEW DELHI: Haryana will become the first state in the country to have aquifer mapping done for its groundwater resources by May.

An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock, from which groundwater can be extracted. The mapping will assist the state in estimating the quantity and quality of groundwater in an aquifer and would help it in assessment of sustainable level of water extraction.

Haryana is one of the eight states selected for this kind of scientific mapping in the first phase. Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana are the other states selected for the purpose. These are the states where the groundwater situation has already reached a critical level.

“The mapping will help us know the exact location of aquifer, its size, quantum of water it can store and its recharge point. The objective of the programme is to prepare management plans, in consultation with stakeholders and state governments, which will help us take measures to replenish the declining groundwater,” said Shashi Shekhar, secretary of the Union water resources ministry.

Shekhar, who reviewed the entire ongoing programme last week, told TOI on Monday that the target is to complete the aquifer mapping of the entire country by 2022. “The mapping in the priority eight states will, however, be done by 2017,” he said, adding this is one of the priority projects of his ministry that looks to ensure sustainability and equitable distribution of water among users across the country in due course.

The aquifer mapping is currently being done in eight states by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) on the scale of 1:50,000 in 3D. It has been using advanced technologies like heli-borne geophysical surveys for mapping and sophisticated software for preparing management plans.

The mapping will eventually help in predicting the groundwater scenario in the country. At present, 1,071 units out of total 6,607 groundwater assessment units (blocks\mandals\talukas) in the country are over-exploited. Additionally, 914 units are in various stages of groundwater criticality. An over-exploited unit means that the withdrawal of water is more than the recharge in that particular unit.