Your search found 12 records
1 Prathapar, Sanmugam; Sharma, Bharat; Aggarwal, Pramod. 2012. Hydro, hydrogeological constraints to managed aquifer recharge in the Indo Gangetic Plains. IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Highlight, 40. 5p.
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H045487)
(305.5KB)
2 Sood, Aditya; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Smakhtin, Vladimir. 2014. Green and blue water. In Lautze, Jonathan (Ed.). Key concepts in water resource management: a review and critical evaluation. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.91-102. (Earthscan Water Text)
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: 333.91 G000 LAU, e-copy SF Record No: H046521)
3 Maheshwari, B.; Varua, M.; Ward, J.; Packham, R.; Chinnasamy, Pennan; Dashora, Y.; Dave, S.; Soni, P.; Dillon, P.; Purohit, R.; Hakimuddin; Shah, Tushaar; Oza, S.; Singh, P.; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Patel, A.; Jadeja, Y.; Thaker, B.; Kookana, R.; Grewal, H.; Yadav, K.; Mittal, H.; Chew, M.; Rao, P. 2014. The role of transdisciplinary approach and community participation in village scale groundwater management: insights from Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. Water, 6(11):3386-3408. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w6113386]
Community involvement ; Groundwater management ; Groundwater recharge ; Water table ; Water use ; Sustainability ; Watersheds ; Rain ; Villages ; Farmers ; Households ; Living standards ; Socioeconomic environment ; Gender / India / Gujarat / Rajasthan / Meghraj watershed / Dharta watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H046716)
(1.38 MB) (1.39 MB)
Sustainable use of groundwater is becoming critical in India and requires effective participation from local communities along with technical, social, economic, policy and political inputs. Access to groundwater for farming communities is also an emotional and complex issue as their livelihood and survival depends on it. In this article, we report on transdisciplinary approaches to understanding the issues, challenges and options for improving sustainability of groundwater use in States of Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. In this project, called Managed Aquifer Recharge through Village level Intervention (MARVI), the research is focused on developing a suitable participatory approach and methodology with associated tools that will assist in improving supply and demand management of groundwater. The study was conducted in the Meghraj watershed in Aravalli district, Gujarat, and the Dharta watershed in Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. The study involved the collection of hydrologic, agronomic and socio-economic data and engagement of local village and school communities through their role in groundwater monitoring, field trials, photovoice activities and education campaigns. The study revealed that availability of relevant and reliable data related to the various aspects of groundwater and developing trust and support between local communities, NGOs and government agencies are the key to moving towards a dialogue to decide on what to do to achieve sustainable use of groundwater. The analysis of long-term water table data indicated considerable fluctuation in groundwater levels from year to year or a net lowering of the water table, but the levels tend to recover during wet years. This provides hope that by improving management of recharge structures and groundwater pumping, we can assist in stabilizing the local water table. Our interventions through Bhujal Jankaars (BJs), (a Hindi word meaning “groundwater informed” volunteers), schools, photovoice workshops and newsletters have resulted in dialogue within the communities about the seriousness of the groundwater issue and ways to explore options for situation improvement. The BJs are now trained to understand how local recharge and discharge patterns are influenced by local rainfall patterns and pumping patterns and they are now becoming local champions of groundwater and an important link between farmers and project team. This study has further strengthened the belief that traditional research approaches to improve the groundwater situation are unlikely to be suitable for complex groundwater issues in the study areas. The experience from the study indicates that a transdisciplinary approach is likely to be more effective in enabling farmers, other village community members and NGOs to work together with researchers and government agencies to understand the groundwater situation and design interventions that are holistic and have wider ownership. Also, such an approach is expected to deliver longer-term sustainability of groundwater at a regional level.
4 Chinnasamy, Pennan; Misra, Gourav; Shah, Tushaar; Maheshwari, B.; Prathapar, Sanmugam. 2015. Evaluating the effectiveness of water infrastructures for increasing groundwater recharge and agricultural production – a case study of Gujarat, India. Agricultural Water Management, 158:179-188. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2015.05.009]
Groundwater recharge ; Agricultural production ; Water storage ; Water availability ; Watersheds ; Remote sensing ; Investment ; Soil moisture ; Farmland ; Seasonal cropping ; Monsoon climate ; Rain ; Vegetation ; Case studies / India / Gujarat
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047012)
(2.38 MB)
Groundwater for agricultural purposes is of utmost importance in the Indian state of Gujarat. To augment existing agricultural water resources, the Gujarat Government invested in many large-scale and smallscale water infrastructures (WI). In order to increase water storage and groundwater recharge and to justify further investments in WI, a better understanding on the impacts of past WIs is needed. This study uses data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), along with soil moisture data from the Global Land Data Assimilation Systems, to estimate water storage before and after the intensification in the investment in WIs. In addition, Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensor was used to show changes in seasonal cropped areas during the same period. The analysis of data showed that the water storage in the state was estimated to be 24 BCM in 2003–2004 and 30 BCM in 2010–2011, an increase of 29% pre and post WI intensification. The Pixel Crop Duration Index (PCDI) indicated an increase in cropped area (at district level) in 2010–2011 when compared with 2003–2004 period, by 30% on yearly basis and about 80% during non-monsoon period. Results also indicates a significant net increase in water storage (by 5890 M m3 after water used for crop intensification) and increase in agricultural crop area (by 63,862 km2) in Gujarat during the period of intensification in infrastructures for water storage and groundwater recharge. Results also indicate that some districts have higher net water storage (compared to 2003), however the cropped area duration - PCDI has not increased much (e.g., Valsad and Navsari). The findings of this study can increase the understanding of the potential of WIs and provide valuable guidance for increasing cropped area in high water storage regions of Gujarat.
5 Prathapar, Sanmugam; Dhar, S.; Rao, G. T.; Maheshwari, B. 2015. Performance and impacts of managed aquifer recharge interventions for agricultural water security: A framework for evaluation. Agricultural Water Management, 159:165-175. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2015.06.009]
Aquifers ; Groundwater recharge ; Agriculture ; Water security ; Water levels ; Water availability ; Water table ; Watersheds ; Impact assessment ; Performance evaluation ; Villages ; Case studies / India / Andhra Pradesh / Gokulpura / Rajasthan / Tamil Nadu / Maharashtra / Gujarat / Adarsha Watershed / Goverdhanpura Watershed / Kodangipalayam Watershed / Chikalgaon Watershed / Rajasamadhiyala Watershed / Satlasana Watershed
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047099)
(0.83 MB)
To minimize and counter decline of groundwater levels and improve the availability of water for cropproduction, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) interventions are widely adopted across India, often ini-tiated or supported by, local communities, state and central governments to improve the availability ofwater for irrigation. While the literature on MAR in India is vast, the science of their construction is lack-ing. Furthermore, there is an absence of a structured approach to evaluate the performance and impactof MAR interventions. Often, performance and impacts of MAR have been commented upon together,without distinguishing the two.In this article, we aim to propose that performance and impact are different from each other, andthat the evaluation of MAR interventions should take into account such differences between them. Aframework for performance and impact analysis, based on three levels, viz. primary, secondary and ter-tiary, is outlined. It is then applied to seven selected MAR interventions in India, Adarsha watershed –Andhra Pradesh, Gokulpura-Goverdhanpura watershed – Rajasthan, Kodangipalayam watershed – TamilNadu, Chikalgaon watershed – Maharashtra, Rajasamadhiyala watershed – Gujarat, Satlasana watershed– Gujarat and Sujalam Sufalam Yojana – Gujarat. Although, the evaluations of these case studies reportedwere not categorized into performance and impact, most of them have addressed both. However, noneof them could explicitly demonstrate that reported impacts were uniquely related to MAR interventions.If impacts are used as a surrogate for performance, it must be shown that impacts are uniquely linked toMAR interventions.
6 Chinnasamy, Pennan; Maheshwari, B.; Prathapar, Sanmugam. 2015. Understanding groundwater storage changes and recharge in Rajasthan, India through remote sensing. Water, 7(10):5547-5565. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/w7105547]
Groundwater extraction ; Water storage ; Water use ; Water resources ; Remote sensing ; Rainwater ; Water harvesting ; Rainfall patterns ; Agroclimatic zones ; Irrigated farming ; Agriculture ; Case studies / India / Rajasthan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047232)
(0.00 MB) (1.96 MB)
Groundwater management practices need to take hydrogeology, the agro-climate and demand for groundwater into account. Since agroclimatic zones have already been demarcated by the Government of India, it would aid policy makers to understand the status of groundwater recharge and discharge in each agroclimatic zone. However, developing effective policies to manage groundwater at agroclimatic zone and state levels is constrained due to a paucity of temporal data and information. With the launch of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission in 2002, it is now possible to obtain frequent data at broad spatial scales and use it to examine past trends in rain induced recharge and groundwater use. In this study, the GRACE data were used to estimate changes to monthly total water storage (TWS) and groundwater storage in different agroclimatic zones of Rajasthan, India. Furthermore, the long-term annual and seasonal groundwater storage trends in the state were estimated using the GRACE data and the trends were compared with those in rainfall data. The methodology based on GRACE data was found to be useful in detecting large scale trends in groundwater storage changes covering different agroclimatic zones. The analysis of data shows that groundwater storage trends depend on rainfall in previous years and, therefore, on the antecedent moisture conditions. Overall, the study indicates that if suitable groundwater recharge methods and sites are identified for the state, there is potential to achieve more groundwater recharge than what is currently occurring and, thus, enhancing the availability of water for irrigated agriculture.
7 Jadeja, Y.; Maheshwari, B.; Packham, R.; Hakimuddin; Purohit, R.; Thaker, B.; Goradiya, V.; Oza, S.; Dave, S.; Soni, P.; Dashora, Y.; Dashora, R.; Shah, Tushaar; Gorsiya, J.; Katara, P.; Ward, J.; Kookana, R.; Dillon, P.; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Chinnasamy, Pennan; Varua, M. 2015. Participatory groundwater management at village level in India – empowering communities with science for effective decision making. Paper Presented at the Australian Groundwater Conference 2015, Canberra, Australia, 3-5 November 2015. 20p.
Participatory approaches ; Groundwater management ; Water resources ; Watersheds ; Rural communities ; Villages ; Empowerment ; Decision making ; Drinking water ; Capacity building ; Hydrogeology ; Training ; Land resources ; Stakeholders ; Mapping / India / Gujarat / Rajasthan
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047332)
(0.68 MB)
There are many reasons behind the worsening groundwater situation that have led to a scarcity of quality water supply for sustaining lives and livelihoods in India, as well as in other parts of the world. The lack of a proper scientific understanding of this situation by the various stakeholders has been identified as one of the important gaps in the sustainable management of groundwater. This paper shares experiences from Gujarat and Rajasthan in western India where scientists, NGOs, government agencies and village leaders have worked together to explore strategies for sustainable groundwater management. The study involved a total of eleven villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. The study’s main aim was to educate these communities through an intensive capacity building of (mainly) rural youth, called Bhujal Jaankars (BJs), a Hindi word meaning ‘groundwater informed’. The BJs were trained in their local settings through relevant theory and practical exercises, so that they could perform a geo-hydrological evaluation of their area, monitor groundwater and share their findings and experiences with their village community. The BJs went through a training program of a series of sessions totalling 45-days that covered mapping, land and water resource analysis, geo-hydrology, and water balance analysis, and finally groundwater management strategies. This approach has highlighted important learning that can be replicated in other parts of the two states and beyond. There are now 35 trained BJs who regularly monitor groundwater and rainfall in the two study watersheds, and provide data to both scientific and their own rural communities. This study has demonstrated that BJ capacity building has helped to provide a scientific basis for village level groundwater dialogue. This is now leading the communities and other stakeholders to improve their decision making regarding groundwater use, crop selection, agronomy, recharge strategies and other aspects of sustainable groundwater management. Although the BJ program has been successful and BJs can act as a valuable interface between local communities and other stakeholders, there still exists some challenges to the BJ programme, such as the need for mechanisms and funding sources that will sustain the BJs over the longer term; wider acceptance of BJs among scientific communities and policy makers; and the acceptance of the role and involvements of BJs in natural resources management programs of the State and Central governments in India.
8 Okwany, Romulus O.; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Bastakoti, Ram C.; Mondal, M. K. 2016. Shallow subsurface drainage for managing seasonal flooding in Ganges floodplain, Bangladesh. Irrigation and Drainage, 65(5):712-723. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.1990]
Subsurface drainage ; Flood control ; Water management ; Groundwater table ; Water levels ; Surface water ; Ponds ; Canals ; Monsoon climate ; Seasonal cropping ; Rice ; Winter crops ; Sunflowers ; Harvesting ; Soil moisture ; Precipitation ; Evaporation ; Monitoring ; Farmers ; Community involvement ; Floodplains / Bangladesh / Ganges Floodplain / Khulna / Batiaghata
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047979)
(2.02 MB) (2.02 MB)
The impact of shallow subsurface drainage was investigated as a pilot study on a 0.13 ha plot of a farmer’s field located in Batiaghata, Khulna District, Bangladesh, in the floodplain of the Bay of Bengal. The drainage design differed from traditional subsurface tile drains in two respects: (i) the depth of drains was shallow (30 cm); and (ii) the design did not include a sump and accessories such as pumps (drainage outlets were tidal).
A monsoonal paddy rice crop followed by a winter sunflower crop was evaluated. The experimental treatment was a shallow subsurface drainage system with a drain depth of 0.3 m and drain spacing of 8 m. Measurements of surface flooding depth and groundwater table depth were made weekly and subsurface drainage discharge during managed drainage of the field was measured to determine system responsiveness. The managed subsurface drainage enabled the establishment of the winter sunflower crop 1.5 months earlier than the usual local practice, increased the yield and facilitated safe harvest, avoiding pre-monsoonal rainfall damage. Farmers expressed increased interest in managed subsurface drainage for its potential for early establishment of rabi crops and increased yields in the study area. This study outlines the potential benefits resulting from subsurface drainage in Khulna District.
A monsoonal paddy rice crop followed by a winter sunflower crop was evaluated. The experimental treatment was a shallow subsurface drainage system with a drain depth of 0.3 m and drain spacing of 8 m. Measurements of surface flooding depth and groundwater table depth were made weekly and subsurface drainage discharge during managed drainage of the field was measured to determine system responsiveness. The managed subsurface drainage enabled the establishment of the winter sunflower crop 1.5 months earlier than the usual local practice, increased the yield and facilitated safe harvest, avoiding pre-monsoonal rainfall damage. Farmers expressed increased interest in managed subsurface drainage for its potential for early establishment of rabi crops and increased yields in the study area. This study outlines the potential benefits resulting from subsurface drainage in Khulna District.
9 Chinnasamy, Pennan; Maheshwari, B.; Prathapar, Sanmugam. 2018. Adaptation of standardised precipitation index for understanding watertable fluctuations and groundwater resilience in hard-rock areas of India. Environmental Earth Sciences, 77(15):1-16. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7734-6]
Groundwater management ; Groundwater recharge ; Climate change ; Drought ; Rain ; Precipitation ; Water table ; Water use ; Water supply ; Aquifers ; Rural communities / India / Rajasthan / Gujarat / Udaipur District / Aravalli District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048871)
Groundwater use in India, and many developing countries, is linked to livelihood and well-being of village communities. It is, therefore, important to characterise groundwater behaviour and resilience and identify strategies that will help to improve the sustainability of groundwater supplies. The concept of Standardised Precipitation Index (SPI) has been widely used for analysing rainfall drought. In this study, we adapt SPI to understand watertable fluctuations and assess resilience of groundwater supplies vis-à-vis rainfall variability from one year to the next. The modified SPI, called Groundwater Resilience Index (GRI), represents a normalized continuous watertable elevation variability function. The index is applied to two districts, viz., Udaipur and Aravalli in Rajasthan and Gujarat, India, respectively, to assess its usefulness. To evaluate the association of rainfall variability with groundwater depth fluctuation, SPI was also calculated. The study showed that GRI varies less than SPI, indicating that groundwater availability is less variable than the rainfall in both districts. This means that groundwater increases reliability of water supply for irrigation in both districts. The estimated SPI and GRI at 6-month intervals for the study period show that even though the groundwater is not stressed (normal condition in 75% of the months observed), there is variation in resilience of the aquifer system to drought and extreme events. Overall, the study indicated that the proposed GRI can be a useful tool for understanding watertable fluctuations and assessing groundwater resilience, especially to prioritise areas for groundwater recharge when funds for recharge works are limited.
10 Surinaidu, L.; Nandan, M. J.; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Rao, V. V. S. G.; Natarajan, Rajmohan. 2016. Groundwater evaporation ponds: a viable option for the management of shallow saline waterlogged areas. Hydrology, 3(3):1-12. [doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology3030030]
Groundwater management ; Groundwater level ; Evaporation ; Salinity ; Saline water ; Waterlogging ; Water balance ; Ponds ; Food security ; Flow discharge ; Land degradation ; Hydrogeology ; Aquifers ; Calibration / India / Punjab / Muktsar District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048905)
(2.60 MB)
The province of Punjab is the main food basket of India. In recent years, many regions of Punjab are facing acute waterlogging problems and increased secondary salinity, which have negative impacts on food security of the nation. In particular, these problems are more pronounced in the Muktsar district of Punjab. The observed groundwater levels trend between 2005 and 2011 implies that groundwater levels are coming towards the land surface at the rate of 0.5 m/year in Lambi and Malout blocks. In this study, a groundwater flow model was constructed using MODFLOW to understand the groundwater table dynamics and to test the groundwater evaporation ponds to draw down the groundwater levels in the waterlogging areas of Muktsar district. The predicted flow model results indicate that groundwater levels could be depleted at the rate of 0.3 m/year between 2012 and 2018 after the construction of Groundwater Evaporation Ponds (GEP). In addition, the constructed ponds can be used for aquaculture that generates additional income. The proposed GEP method may be a promising tool and suitable for the reduction of waterlogging in any region if there is no proper surface drainage, and also for enhancement of agricultural production that improves the social and economic status of the farming community.
11 Jadeja, J.; Maheshwari, B.; Packham, R.; Bohra, H.; Purohit, R.; Thaker, B.; Dillon, P.; Oza, S.; Dave, S.; Soni, P.; Dashora, Y.; Dashora, R.; Shah, Tushaar [IWMI]; Gorsiya, J.; Katara, P.; Ward, J.; Kookana, R.; Singh, P. K.; Chinnasamy, Pennan; Goradiya, V.; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Varua, M.; Chew, M. 2018. Managing aquifer recharge and sustaining groundwater use: developing a capacity building program for creating local groundwater champions. Sustainable Water Resources Management, 4(2):317-329. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40899-018-0228-6]
Groundwater management ; Groundwater extraction ; Groundwater recharge ; Groundwater development ; Water use ; Water quality ; Water availability ; Water resources ; Water management ; Water levels ; Aquifers ; Monitoring ; Capacity building ; Sustainability ; Training ; Villages ; Rural communities ; Stakeholders ; Farmers ; Participatory approaches ; Cooperatives / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048906)
Participatory groundwater management is increasingly being recognised for its ability to address the challenges of equity, efficiency and sustainability. It can particularly help with effective engagement at the grassroots level for monitoring, recharging and managing the groundwater as a common pool resource. The main aim of this article is to discuss the training and management process used and the lessons learnt from a participatory groundwater management project, titled Managing Aquifer Recharge and Sustainable Groundwater Use through Village-level Intervention (MARVI). In this project, researchers, rural development facilitators and local villagers worked together to initiate participatory groundwater monitoring in 11 villages from the Dharta and Meghraj watersheds in Rajasthan and Gujarat, India. The study involved educating villagers through an intensive program of capacity building, wherein the villagers who participated in the program were called Bhujal Jaankars (BJs), a Hindi word meaning ‘groundwater informed’. The BJs were trained in their local settings through relevant theory and practical exercises, so that they could perform a geo-hydrological evaluation of their area, monitor groundwater and share their findings and experiences with their village community. The study has highlighted that with a well-designed program of capacity building and on-going support through training and nurturing, BJs can play an important role in monitoring watertable depth and other data for estimating groundwater recharge, leading to a sharing of the groundwater information with the local village community to influence the sustainable use of groundwater. Overall they can act as local champions for groundwater futures. Further, this study has demonstrated that BJ capacity building can help to provide a scientific basis for village level groundwater dialogue and assist village communities and other stakeholders to improve their decision making regarding groundwater use, crop selection, agronomy, recharge strategies and other aspects of sustainable groundwater management. Although the BJ program has been successful and BJs can act as a valuable interface between local communities and other stakeholders managed aquifer recharge activities, there still exists some challenges to the BJ programme, such as the need for mechanisms and funding sources that will sustain the BJs over the longer term; wider acceptance of BJs among scientific communities and policy makers; and the acceptance of the role and involvements of BJs in natural resources management programs of the State and Central governments in India.
12 Okwany, Romulus; Prathapar, Sanmugam; Bastakoti, Ram C. 2017. Renovating open shallow dug wells for off-season home gardening in Nepal Terai. Irrigation and Drainage Systems Engineering, 6(3):1-7. [doi: https://doi.org/10.4172/2168-9768.1000191]
Groundwater irrigation ; Groundwater development ; Irrigation water ; Domestic water ; Water use ; Water levels ; Water requirements ; Well construction ; Tube wells ; Domestic gardens ; Hydraulic conductivity ; Agriculture ; Pumping ; Aquifers ; Farmers ; Cropping patterns / Nepal / Rupandehi District
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H048910)
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/renovating-open-shallow-dug-wells-for-offseason-home-gardening-in-nepal-terai-2168-9768-1000190.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048910.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H048910.pdf
(1.49 MB)
Groundwater has been noted as a major resource for irrigation water in Nepal Terai. The development of different methods of groundwater withdrawal has been promoted in Rupandehi District. Open dug wells were a major source for domestic water use in the 1980s due to cost and ease of construction. But in later years, the promotion of tube wells, access to diesel pump sets, low yield and the deterioration of water quality from the open dug wells have caused a decline in usage and their abandonment in favor of shallow tube wells. This study was conducted in Mahuwari Village, Rupandehi District to assess the feasibility for the rehabilitation of abandoned open dug wells by reassessing access to irrigation water during the dry season, in areas with limited conductivity of aquifer hydrogeology. The yields of the wells were observed to be too low for large-scale irrigation, especially with the rice paddy cropping system. An assessment of well storage and recharge patterns offer an opportunity for off-season supplementary irrigation of home gardens for establishing vegetables and seedlings, with good water management practices. The potential yield of the open dug wells at the peak of the dry season was 4 m3 day-1 (0.44 mm-ha), suficient to irrigate 0.12 ha of a tomato ield, satisfying 25% of a currently fallowed field for home gardening.
Powered by DB/Text WebPublisher, from
