Augmenting  Groundwater Resources by Artificial Recharge

ISET, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and a variety of local organizations are collaborating on a project to investigate the potential for augmenting groundwater resources by artificial recharge in South Asia.

Outputs from this project will be:

• Improved understanding of the impacts of artificial recharge in different hydrological and socio-economic settings;  

• Guidance on scope and effectiveness of artificial recharge for  implementers, donors and policy-makers; and  

• Dissemination of knowledge to change agents and the public.

The project involves detailed studies at three research sites in India and one in Nepal. In addition, associated studies, based on recent and current work by other groups are being used to broaden the scope of the outputs. This includes other work in India as well as in other parts of the world.

Field sites include:

• Coimbatore area, Tamil Nadu
• Kolwan Valley, near Pune, Maharasthra
• Aravalli Hills, Gujarat

Activities at each research site vary depending on preceding levels of knowledge and infrastructure but are all being approached in the following generic manner:

• Produce a report of a conceptual model of the research site on which to base data collection during the life of the project;
• Undertake hydrological assessment and monitoring of the research sites;
• Study and compare the operational and institutional issues at each site;
• Assess the impacts of artificial recharge interventions on livelihoods, both positive and negative; and
• Produce a report of the study at each site.

To complement and broaden the scope of the project, synthesis studies are also being undertaken in Alwar district of Rajasthan and in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Alwar site will harvest lessons from the well-known work on water harvesting undertaken by Tarun Bharat Sangh. In the Kathmandu Valley, research is currently underway, led by ISET and Nepal Water Conservation Foundation, to identify potential water source and storage sites in and around the Kathmandu Valley. Several watersheds in the hills that surround the valley have shallow aquifers that present strong artificial recharge sources. Field studies are being carried out to determine several factors including:

• permeability, porosity and depth of sediments

• rainfall

• seasonality

• overdraft situation

• infiltration rates

• pollution load

The strategy for dissemination and getting feedback throughout the life of the project involves the production of information flyers and leaflets through a network of researchers and organizations as well as the local communities, government, NGOs and universities at a local level, and through presentations at conferences and publication in journals as well as in the more popular media.

The main product at the end of the project will be the publication, and wide dissemination of guidelines for the implementation and operation of artificial recharge schemes in order to optimize their effectiveness from the technical as well as from societal and economic perspectives.

Research results will be posted as they become available.