Your search found 11 records
1 Saha, D.; Zahid, A.; Shrestha, S. R.; Pavelic, Paul. 2016. Groundwater resources. In Bharati, Luna; Sharma, Bharat R.; Smakhtin, Vladimir (Eds.). The Ganges River Basin: status and challenges in water, environment and livelihoods. Oxon, UK: Routledge - Earthscan. pp.24-51. (Earthscan Series on Major River Basins of the World)
Groundwater management ; Water resources ; Groundwater table ; Water levels ; Groundwater extraction ; Groundwater irrigation ; Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; Water quality ; Groundwater pollution ; Arsenic ; Chemical contamination ; Tube wells ; Institutional development ; Water policy ; Resource management ; Regulations ; River basins ; Hydrogeology ; Alluvial land ; Plains ; Sediment ; Deltas / Nepal / India / Bangladesh / Ganges River Basin / Himalayan Region / Gangetic Plains / Bhabher Belt / Terai Belt
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H047811)
2 Bhanja, S. N.; Mukherjee, A.; Saha, D.; Velicogna, I.; Famiglietti, J. S. 2016. Validation of GRACE based groundwater storage anomaly using in-situ groundwater level measurements in India. Journal of Hydrology, 543(Part B):729-738. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.10.042]
Water resources ; Groundwater table ; Water storage ; Water levels ; Models ; River basins ; Aquifers ; Wells ; Satellite observation ; Hydrogeology ; Precipitation ; Estimation / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047897)
(4.00 MB)
In this study, we tried to validate groundwater storage (GWS) anomaly obtained from a combination of GRACE and land-surface model based estimates, for the first time, with GWS anomaly obtained from a dense network of in-situ groundwater observation wells within 12 major river basins in India. We used seasonal data from >15,000 groundwater observation wells between 2005 and 2013, distributed all over the country. Two recently released GRACE products, RL05 spherical harmonics (SH) and RL05 mascon (MS) products are used for comparison with in-situ data. To our knowledge, this is the first study of comparing the performance of two independent GRACE products at a sub-continental scale. Also for the first time, we have created a high resolution (0.10 0.10 ) map of specific yield for the entire country that was used for calculating GWS. Observed GWS anomalies have been computed using water level anomalies and specific yield information for the locale of individual observation wells that are up-scaled to basin-scale in order to compare with GRACE-based estimates. In general GRACE-based estimates match well (on the basis of the statistical analyses performed in the study) with observed estimates in most of the river basins. On comparing with observed GWS anomaly, GRACE-SH estimates match well in terms of RMSE, while GRACE-MS estimates show better association in terms of correlation, while the output of skewness, kurtosis, coefficient of variation (CV) and scatter analyses remain inconclusive for inter-comparison between two GRACE estimates. We used a non-parametric trend estimation approach, the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filter, to further assess the performance of the two GRACE estimates. GRACE-MS estimates clearly outperform GRACE-SH estimates for reproducing observed GWS anomaly trends with significantly (>95% confidence level) strong association in 10 out of 12 basins for GRACE-MS estimates, on the other hand, GRACE-SH estimates show significantly (>95% confidence level) strong association in 6 out of 12 basins. On the basis of the study output, we recommend using GRACE-MS estimates for groundwater studies over the region and other regions of the globe with similar climatic, hydrogeologic or groundwater withdrawal conditions.
3 Bhanja, S. N.; Rodell, M.; Li, B.; Saha, D.; Mukherjee, A. 2017. Spatio-temporal variability of groundwater storage in India. Journal of Hydrology, 544:428-437. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.11.052]
Groundwater table ; Water storage ; Spatial variation ; River basins ; Hydrogeology ; Models ; Precipitation ; Monsoon climate ; Wells ; Measurement ; Monitoring ; Satellite observation ; Costs / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H047956)
(4.60 MB)
Groundwater level measurements from 3907 monitoring wells, distributed within 22 major river basins of India, are assessed to characterize their spatial and temporal variability. Groundwater storage (GWS) anomalies (relative to the long-term mean) exhibit strong seasonality, with annual maxima observed during the monsoon season and minima during pre-monsoon season. Spatial variability of GWS anomalies increases with the extent of measurements, following the power law relationship, i.e., log-(spatial variability) is linearly dependent on log-(spatial extent). In addition, the impact of well spacing on spatial variability and the power law relationship is investigated. We found that the mean GWS anomaly sampled at a 0.25 degree grid scale closes to unweighted average over all wells. The absolute error corresponding to each basin grows with increasing scale, i.e., from 0.25 degree to 1 degree. It was observed that small changes in extent could create very large changes in spatial variability at large grid scales. Spatial variability of GWS anomaly has been found to vary with climatic conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first study of the effects of well spacing on groundwater spatial variability. The results may be useful for interpreting large scale groundwater variations from unevenly spaced or sparse groundwater well observations or for siting and prioritizing wells in a network for groundwater management. The output of this study could be used to maintain a cost effective groundwater monitoring network in the study region and the approach can also be used in other parts of the globe.
4 Patel, Praharsh; Saha, D.. 2019. Reckoning the ground water recharge in semi-arid region: an assessment of community led policy performance in Saurashtra. Paper presented at the 3rd World Irrigation Forum (WIF3) on Development for Water, Food and Nutrition Security in a Competitive Environment, Bali, Indonesia, 1-7 September 2019. 10p.
Groundwater recharge ; Semiarid zones ; Water policy ; Community involvement ; Water resources ; Aquifers ; Groundwater depletion ; Groundwater table ; Rain ; Monsoon climate ; Impact assessment / India / Gujarat / Maharashtra / Saurashtra / Marathawada / Vidarbha
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049667)
(0.24 MB) (248 KB)
Easy access, round the year availability even in the draught years and lack of regulations coupled with advanced and cheap technology to create extraction structure have been major factors responsible for indiscriminate extraction of groundwater. With a rise in population leading to increasing water requirement, the untapped groundwater resource has been the biggest bone of contention amongst multiple stakeholders with a threat of serious depletion in many parts of the world especially regions without perennial surface water availability and arid or semi-arid climate. India is the largest extractor of groundwater and the alarming situation has already tapped in. Semi-arid region of Saurashtra has the most extreme case with just 500 mm of rainfall and almost 40 percent of coefficient of variation leading to frequent drought-like condition. Saurashtra's almost 83 per cent of the total irrigated area is through groundwater. High extraction of groundwater of Saurashtra caused major groundwater depletion in the region. The condition even intensified during consecutive drought years of 1985-87 when Saurashtra received just 93 mm of total rainfall during 1987 on top of 60 per cent rainfall in 2 consecutive drought years of 1985 (299 mm) and 1986 (298 mm). Severity of the condition led to a mass movement for rainwater harvesting as well as a decentralized groundwater recharge at an unprecedented scale. The community-led movement with the support of local leaders, merchants and religious gurus in the early 90s got support from the state government. The movement was formalized as Sardar Patel Sahkari Jal Sanchay Yojana (SPSJSY) soon after Narendra Modi assumed office as Chief Minister of Gujarat. Under this pan-Gujarat scheme, 5 lakh structures created (113738 check dams, 55917 bori bandhs, 240199 farm ponds, besides 62532 large and small check dams) making way for 808 MCM (Million Cubic Meter) of storage capacity. The scheme performed best in Saurashtra as almost 60 per cent of this storage capacity (482 MCM) confined in 7 districts of Saurashtra. The success of the program was much lauded by state and central governments making it exemplary for other semiarid regions like Marathawada and Vidarbha those that have comparable terrain, soil and aquifer characteristics. The comparative analysis of the movement's success with pre-post analysis by considering monsoonal groundwater recharge during good rainfall spell of 1975-84 (pre) and 2004-09 (post) show almost a two-fold increase in the groundwater recharge during the similar monsoon years in Saurashtra. This temporal analysis enables to establish the impact of the collective efforts by people as well as the government for groundwater rejuvenation in Saurashtra. With availability of dependable irrigation, Saurashtra has also emerged as a major contributor to Gujarat state's agriculture growth which has normally been shadowed by other regions of the state making the state agriculture growth reaching the double-digit figure.
5 Patel, Praharsh M.; Saha, D.; Shah, Tushaar. 2020. Sustainability of groundwater through community-driven distributed recharge: an analysis of arguments for water scarce regions of semi-arid India. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 29:100680. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100680]
Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; Community involvement ; Sustainability ; Semiarid zones ; Impact assessment ; Groundwater table ; Groundwater extraction ; Water policy ; Water scarcity ; Irrigation ; Monsoon climate ; Rain / India / Gujarat / Maharashtra / Saurashtra / Marathawada / Vidarbha / Sardar Sarovar Project
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H049712)
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581819302290/pdfft?md5=54ec1a9e7ec8a15a46c5464404b46f4a&pid=1-s2.0-S2214581819302290-main.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049712.pdf
https://vlibrary.iwmi.org/pdf/H049712.pdf
(6.80 MB) (6.80 MB)
Study Region: Semi-Arid Regions of Marathawada, Vidarbha and Saurashtra in India
Study Focus: To understand and evaluate the impact of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) efforts.
New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Since 1990, the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India witnessed a massive community-based distributed groundwater recharge movement, initially catalyzed by NGOs and later supported by the government. The region has witnessed visible improvement in groundwater resources during recent years, which was attributed by some researchers to the recharge movement. A competing hypothesis holds that improvement in groundwater levels in Saurashtra are a result more due to a succession of good rainfall years during 2001–2014, aided by transfer of surface water from a big dam on Narmada River, rather than the distributed recharge movement. We develop and implement a 2-way test of these competing hypotheses: First, we compare groundwater recharge patterns in Saurashtra during a recent period of high rainfall years with a similar period before the onset of the recharge movement; second, for both these high rainfall periods, we also compare groundwater recharge patterns in two other comparable aquifer and terrain regions, viz., Vidarbha and Marathawada in Maharastra, which did not experience recharge movement on the same scale as Saurashtra did. Our results support the hypothesis that the community supported distributed recharge movement is the key to improved groundwater recharge in Saurashtra during 2004-09.
Study Focus: To understand and evaluate the impact of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) efforts.
New Hydrological Insights for the Region: Since 1990, the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, India witnessed a massive community-based distributed groundwater recharge movement, initially catalyzed by NGOs and later supported by the government. The region has witnessed visible improvement in groundwater resources during recent years, which was attributed by some researchers to the recharge movement. A competing hypothesis holds that improvement in groundwater levels in Saurashtra are a result more due to a succession of good rainfall years during 2001–2014, aided by transfer of surface water from a big dam on Narmada River, rather than the distributed recharge movement. We develop and implement a 2-way test of these competing hypotheses: First, we compare groundwater recharge patterns in Saurashtra during a recent period of high rainfall years with a similar period before the onset of the recharge movement; second, for both these high rainfall periods, we also compare groundwater recharge patterns in two other comparable aquifer and terrain regions, viz., Vidarbha and Marathawada in Maharastra, which did not experience recharge movement on the same scale as Saurashtra did. Our results support the hypothesis that the community supported distributed recharge movement is the key to improved groundwater recharge in Saurashtra during 2004-09.
6 Malakar, P.; Mukherjee, A.; Bhanja, S. N.; Ganguly, A. R.; Ray, R. K.; Zahid, A.; Sarkar, S.; Saha, D.; Chattopadhyay, S. 2021. Three decades of depth-dependent groundwater response to climate variability and human regime in the transboundary Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna mega river basin aquifers. Advances in Water Resources, 149:103856. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2021.103856]
Groundwater table ; Climate change ; River basins ; International waters ; Aquifers ; Groundwater recharge ; Water extraction ; Anthropogenic factors ; Water levels ; Wells ; Irrigation ; Precipitation / India / Bangladesh / Indus River Basin / Ganges River Basin / Brahmaputra River Basin / Meghna River Basin
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H050254)
(3.12 MB)
Groundwater plays a major role in human adaptation and ecological sustainability against climate variability by providing global water and food security. In the Indus-Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna aquifers (IGBM), groundwater abstraction has been reported to be one of the primary contributors to groundwater storage variability. However, there is still a lack of understanding on the relative influence of climate and abstraction on groundwater. Data-guided statistical studies are reported to be crucial in understanding the human-natural complex system. Here, we attributed the long-term (1985–2015) impact of local-precipitation, global-climate cycles, and human influence on multi-depth groundwater levels (n=6753) in the IGBM using lag correlation analysis, wavelet coherence analysis, and regression-based dominance analysis. Our findings highlight the variable patterns of phase lags observed between multi-depth groundwater levels and precipitation depending on the different nature of climatic and anthropogenic drivers in different parts of the basin. We observed intuitive responses, i.e., rapid response in shallow groundwater and relatively delayed responses to the global climate patterns with increasing depth. However, in the most exploited areas, the hydrological processes governing the groundwater recharge are overwhelmed by unsustainable groundwater abstraction, thus decoupling the hydro-climatic continuum. Our results also suggest groundwater abstraction to be the dominant influence in most of the basin, particularly at the greater depth of the aquifer, thus highlighting the importance of understanding multi-depth groundwater dynamics for future groundwater management and policy interventions.
7 Saha, D.; Marwaha, S.; Mukherjee, A. (Eds.) 2018. Clean and sustainable groundwater in India. Singapore: Springer. 334p. (Springer Hydrogeology) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4552-3]
Groundwater management ; Sustainability ; Groundwater flow ; Groundwater recharge ; Aquifers ; Water resources ; Water supply ; Wells ; Pumping ; Freshwater ; Saline water ; Watersheds ; Contamination ; Fluorides ; Arsenic ; Surface water ; Water levels ; Modelling / India / West Bengal / Punjab / Telangana / Chennai / Tamil Nadu / Rajasthan / Jharkhand / Madhya Pradesh / Gujarat / Uttar Pradesh / Sonbhadra / Nalgonda / Salem / Ram Ganga / Shivpuri
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy SF Record No: H050647)
8 Patel, Praharsh M.; Saha, D.. 2022. Groundwater: a juggernaut of socio-economic development and stability in the arid region of Kachchh. In Re, V.; Manzione, R. L.; Abiye, T. A.; Mukherji, Aditi; MacDonald, A. (Eds.). Groundwater for sustainable livelihoods and equitable growth. Leiden, Netherlands: CRC Press - Balkema. pp.231-252. (IAH - International Contributions to Hydrogeology 30) [doi: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003024101-13]
Groundwater depletion ; Socioeconomic development ; Water resources ; Arid zones ; Agricultural sector ; Irrigation ; Minerals ; Drought ; Villages / India / Kachchh
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: IWMI Record No: H051158)
(1.03 MB)
Kachchh, the westernmost district of India is historically known for its unique landscape, distinct traditions and arid climate. For a long time, the arid region of Kachchh had limited economic growth and limited habitation due to water scarcity caused by erratic rainfall. In 2001, the seismically active region of Kachchh experienced a large earthquake measuring 7.7 Mw but, the region has shown considerable development post-disaster. Growth strategies for agriculture, manufacturing and tourism implemented by the government and supported by industries and other agencies have not only made the region a dynamic economic hub in the state of Gujarat, but also has highlighted the long-neglected region on the world map. Due to the lack of perennial surface water availability and limited rainfall, the development has been fuelled by exploiting the groundwater resources to a great extent. The objective of this chapter is to highlight groundwater use in Kachchh, known as one of the most arid regions of India with low rainfall and high variability. Groundwater is playing a vital role in meeting the demand for all societal usage, irrigation, domestic requirements and industries. The authors highlight how the region is blessed with a suitable geological formation, forming a potential freshwater aquifer system which has served society for centuries even with a grossly adequate recharge. They highlight the importance of looking into the sustainable use of groundwater, a priceless natural resource of the region.
9 Saha, D.; Sikka, Alok K.; Goklani, Rahul. 2022. Artificial recharge endeavours in India: a review. Water Security, 16:100121. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2022.100121]
Groundwater recharge ; Artificial recharge ; Rainwater harvesting ; Aquifers ; Resource depletion ; Water quality ; Impact assessment ; Socioeconomic aspects / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051237)
(0.59 MB)
In India, artificial recharge (AR) of aquifers is considered a primary supply-side measure to combat the widespread over-exploitation of groundwater. As a major collateral benefit of rainwater harvesting (RWH) is aquifer rejuvenation, both rainwater harvesting and AR are planned and executed as a set of coherent interventions. The Central and state governments have brought in several schemes involving AR and RWH. Moreover, a number of researches are being conducted on how to select the sites for structure construction, the types of structure and their designs depending upon the local hydrogeology, groundwater flow regime, terrain condition and demand of water, and how they impact on resource rejuvenation and improvement in water quality. Various researches are also available on how such endeavors are translating into socio-economic benefits. The paper reviews the researches that have been done in India on these issues and related government policies and schemes under execution. The critical issues like source water availability for recharge, upstream-downstream conflicts, and the rising awareness of different demand-side interventions for sustainable management of groundwater resources have also been discussed.
10 Saha, D.; Taron, Avinandan. 2021. Joint forest management in India: a game theoretic analysis of its evolution and reasons behind poor performance. Indian Journal of Economics, 102 Part-2(405):277-295.
Forest management ; Deforestation ; Natural resources management ; Property rights ; Game theory / India
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051673)
(3.51 MB)
India initiated Joint Forest Management in 1990, by the National Forest Policy of 1988. It stressed on the involvement of partnership between the Forest Department and local communities for sustainable forest management. This study utilises a game theoretic framework to describe the evolution of this system, and its present structural problems. The model indicates conditions of improvement within the institution to make it sustainable. These recommendations are based on certain assumptions of the existing situation. Therefore, using the conclusion for policy recommendations needs a thorough appreciation of complexities existing in the system, which has been simplified in the model.
11 Saha, D.; Taron, Avinandan. 2023. Economic valuation of restoring and conserving ecosystem services of Indian Sundarbans. Environmental Development, 46:100846. [doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envdev.2023.100846]
Ecosystem services ; Forest conservation ; Environmental restoration ; Contingent valuation ; Economic value ; Willingness to pay ; Livelihoods ; Households ; Socioeconomic aspects ; Communities ; Participatory approaches ; Mangroves / India / West Bengal / Sundarbans / Gosaba
(Location: IWMI HQ Call no: e-copy only Record No: H051824)
(1.64 MB)
Conservation of forest ecosystem is fundamental for economic-ecological sustainability. Indian Sundarbans provide several ecosystem services, which needs sustainable exploitation since forest dwellers are heavily dependent on the forest. In our study, we attempt to estimate the option value of the forest dwellers through a non-market based valuation technique. Using contingent valuation, we seek to estimate the contribution forest fringe dwellers are ready to provide for restoration and conservation of the ecosystem services. Assuming a random utility framework, mean willingness to pay is estimated from the forest dwellers’ responses to the Dichotomous Choice bidding as well as open-ended bidding question using socio-economic variables which determine the value towards forest ecosystem services. The results indicate that forest dwellers have a positive option value and hence are willing to forgo present extraction of forest resources for future use. This value the forest dwellers associate with non-use ecosystem services indicates their willingness to participate in forest conservation. The study therefore concludes that institutions like Joint Forest Management should be promoted for efficient management of the mangrove in providing livelihood and ecosystem services.
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