• Rashid Umar

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science

• Implications of Kali–Hindon inter-stream aquifer water balance for groundwater management in western Uttar Pradesh

The Kali–Hindon inter-stream region extends over an area of 395 km2 within the Ganga–Yamuna interfluve. It is a fertile tract for sugarcane cultivation. Groundwater is a primary resource for irrigation and industrial purposes. In recent years, over-exploitation has resulted in an adverse impact on the groundwater regime. In this study, an attempt has been made to calculate a water balance for the Kali–Hindon inter-stream region. Various inflows and outflows to and from the aquifer have been calculated. The recharge due to rainfall and other recharge parameters such as horizontal inflow, irrigation return flow and canal seepage were also evaluated. Groundwater withdrawals, evaporation from the water table, discharge from the aquifer to rivers and horizontal subsurface outflows were also estimated. The results show that total recharge into the system is 148.72million cubic metres (Mcum), whereas the total discharge is 161.06 Mcum, leaving a deficit balance of −12.34Mcum. Similarly, the groundwater balance was evaluated for the successive four years. The result shows that the groundwater balance is highly sensitive to variation in rainfall followed by draft through pumpage. The depths to water level are shallow in the canal-irrigated northern part of the basin and deeper in the southern part. The pre-monsoon and post-monsoon water levels range from 4.6 to 17.7m below ground level (bgl) and from 3.5 to 16.5m bgl respectively. It is concluded that the groundwater may be pumped in the canal-irrigated northern part, while withdrawals may be restricted to the southern portion of the basin, where intense abstraction has led to rapidly falling water table levels.

• Groundwater flow modelling of Yamuna–Krishni interstream, a part of central Ganga Plain Uttar Pradesh

Groundwater is a major source of water for agricultural and domestic requirements in western Uttar Pradesh.Due to increasing agricultural requirements the abstraction of groundwater has increased manifold in the last two-to-three decades.The quaternary alluvium hosts the aquifer in the region.The study area forms a part of Yamuna –Krishni inter ﬂuve.Although the area hosts potential aquifers these have been adversely affected by poor management.For effective ground water management of a basin it is essential that a careful water balance study should be carried out. Keeping this in mind groundwater ﬂow modelling was attempted to simulate the behaviour of the ﬂow system and evaluate the water balance.The groundwater ﬂow modelling was carried out.The horizontal ﬂows,seepage losses from unlined canals,recharge from rainfall and irrigation return ﬂows were applied using different boundary packages available in Visual MODFLOW,Pro 4.1. The river aquifer interaction was simulated using the river boundary package.Hydraulic conductivity values were applied to speciﬁc zones and these ranged from 9.8 to 26.6 m/day.Recharge due to rainfall and irrigation returns were assigned to respective zones.Pumping rates of 500 m3/day$, 1000 m3/day$, 1500 m3/day, 2000 m3/day and 2500 m3/day were applied to appropriate areas of the model to simulate areas of stress.The zone budget shows a water balance de ﬁcit for the period June 2006 to June 2007. The total recharge to the study area is 160.21 million m3 (Mcum). The groundwater draft through pumping is of the order of 233.56 Mcum, thus leaving a deﬁcit balance of −73.35 Mcum. The sensitivity of the model to input parameters was tested by varying the parameters of interest over a range of values, monitoring the response of the model and determining the root mean square error of the simulated groundwater heads to the measured heads. These analyses showed that the model is most sensitive to hydraulic conductivity and recharge parameters. Three scenarios were considered to predict aquifer responses under varied conditions of groundwater bstraction.

• Journal of Earth System Science

Current Issue
Volume 128 | Issue 8
December 2019

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Posted on July 25, 2019