While the 2018 NITI Aayog report saying Delhi will run out of groundwater by 2020 was a misunderstanding, a district less than 100 km from Delhi has almost exhausted its freshwater.
Here is a #thread on salinisation of GW of Mewat/Nuh district of Haryana. Dilli zyada door nahi:
Here is a #thread on salinisation of GW of Mewat/Nuh district of Haryana. Dilli zyada door nahi:
Map from a recent paper by Krishan et al (2020) in the reputed Journal of Hydrology.
Salinity of more than 2 gm/L is considered unfit of drinking & general irrigation.
Only blue in map is freshwater and it REDUCES from 14% to 1% of the area over the monsoon! Why reduce?
Salinity of more than 2 gm/L is considered unfit of drinking & general irrigation.
Only blue in map is freshwater and it REDUCES from 14% to 1% of the area over the monsoon! Why reduce?
Freshwater region reduces because pumping is happening in central/freshwater area reducing its water level, saline water from south increases further in monsoon, and ingresses the freshwater.
This is a very dangerous trend that Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni has predicted for Punjab too.
This is a very dangerous trend that Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni has predicted for Punjab too.
CGWB predicted in 2007 that "if exploited at the current rate, fresh groundwater in the Mewat district is expected to be depleted within the next 10 to 15 years".
With the increased access to pumping equipment, irrigated area in Mewat increased from 72% to 88% during 1990-2004.
With the increased access to pumping equipment, irrigated area in Mewat increased from 72% to 88% during 1990-2004.
The solution?
The people in the region are poor, but will have to come together to prioritize domestic needs over irrigation.
Again, rainwater harvesting is the solution - not putting the rainwater in the ground, but storing in large non- permeable cisterns (~Marwari Tankas)
The people in the region are poor, but will have to come together to prioritize domestic needs over irrigation.
Again, rainwater harvesting is the solution - not putting the rainwater in the ground, but storing in large non- permeable cisterns (~Marwari Tankas)
Sehgal Foundation, Gurugram is doing a good job in the area. They have also proposed an innovative solution of making a freshwater pocket using higher hydrostatic pressure of a taller and deeper recharge well.
A 2 minute youtube explainer on it: bit.ly/3hMyPWi
A 2 minute youtube explainer on it: bit.ly/3hMyPWi
Salinity is currently growing in the region at a 10% per year (FAO, 2009). Delhi and Punjab are parts of the same aquifer system and need to plan keeping this tragedy in mind.
