Groundwater Exploitation in the Northwest Plains
Published: Jul 31, 2015
Photo: Prasad
The annual wheat-rice crop rotation pattern in Punjab consumes huge amounts of water and has led to severe groundwater depletion.
Abstract: In the last few decades, there has been a tremendous overexploitation of India’s groundwater resources, particularly in the Punjab-Haryana region, due to cheap and easy groundwater pumping and drilling technologies accompanied by decision distorting energy subsidies.
TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Already have an account? Log In
Keep reading with one of these options :
OR
MORE ARTICLES
Vanishing Grants: The Fate of Higher Education in India
The foundational principle upon which our education systems rest is fundamentally based on the democratic values of: secularism, federalism, liberty, and equality. The New Education Policy (NEP), 2020...
NEP and Rising Salaries
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has been hailed as a transformative framework for Indian education, introducing sweeping reforms aimed at structural change and improving access, quality, and...
Hazy Ridge Boundaries: In Conversation with Chetan Agarwal on Encroachments, Forest Governance, and Conservation Policies.
The Delhi Ridge, an extension of the Aravalli Hills, is the last remaining natural forest in the capital and a crucial ecological barrier that shields the Indo-Gangetic Plains from desertification. It...
Catalyzing Change: Youth Activism Combating Air Pollution
Youth activism is playing a crucial role in shaping environmental policies and driving public awareness. Young leaders are taking action today, advocating for urgent responses to climate issues and in...
Term Power
What is ...
It depicts the rate of flow (discharge) versus time elapsed at a specific point in a river, or other channel. These graphs are generally employed to understand the influence of climate such as seasonal rainfall, flood, drought and climate change on groundwater levels. In addition, hydrographs are also utilised to understand the response of aquifers to pumping and irrigation.
These are wells dug into aquifers under positive pressure. The water in artesian wells rises to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached naturally, without any artificial aid.
Bed flow is the sustained flow in a stream that comes from groundwater discharge or seepage.
Hydraulic conductivity refers to the permeability of water through a medium. It describes the ease with which water flows through the pores or fractures of an aquifer.
Recharge is the addition of water to an aquifer to replenish it. It may occur naturally through rain, runoff or through artificial measures like spreading basins and recharge wells/irrigation.
These processes are aimed to mitigate the effects of global warming. It involves a multitude of global climate modification programmes that function to tackle climate change by removing CO2 from the air.
Also called paleo-water, the term refers to ancient freshwater reservoirs created millions of years ago and trapped underground in deep aquifers.
Runoff is the water that flows over the surface of earth. The flowing water mostly is a result of storms, glacial melt, floods or other sources. Runoffs are crucial for aquifer recharge.
The term refers to the comparatively dry soil or rock located between the ground surface and the
top of the water table. The pores of the soil/rock of this zone contain both water and air.
These are sedimentary beds through which zero flow occurs because of lack of porosity. Aquicludes generally underlie or overlie an aquifer. In case of the latter, the pressure could metamorphose it into a confined aquifer.