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hatrack

(59,442 posts)
Fri Jan 11, 2019, 08:51 AM Jan 2019

Delhi In Serious Trouble As Groundwater Levels Fall 40 Meters In 18 Years

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Millions of residents who are excluded from, or underserved by, the city distribution system collect water from borewells or tanker trucks. Illegal borewells, some reaching more than 120 meters into the ground, are ubiquitous throughout the city. A March 2018 report found that groundwater is “overexploited” in 15 of Delhi’s 27 administrative divisions. Illegal groundwater extraction has played a role in Delhi’s looming groundwater crisis, but other factors are at play. The Delhi metropolitan area comprises its own capital territory, and is bordered by Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, states that pump large amounts of groundwater for their own use, Lall said. Collectively, water users in the region are extracting groundwater faster than the natural recharge rate.

According to the Indian government’s 2016-2017 Ground Water Year Book, Delhi uses 390 million cubic meters of groundwater a year, about 25 percent higher than the natural recharge rate of 310 million cubic meters. That imbalance amounts to annual deficit spending that results in a drop in groundwater. Today, groundwater levels are considered critical or semi-critical in 90 percent of the city–and demand continues to grow.

The groundwater shortage is further complicated by Delhi’s unchecked urbanization, which is disrupting rejuvenation of the city’s aquifers. Concrete and other infrastructure has haphazardly overtaken the metropolis, blocking rainwater from absorbing into the ground.

Illegal extraction, regional consumption, and urbanization have taken a toll. According to a May 2018 government report, groundwater levels in Delhi now decrease, on average, by 0.5 to 2 meters per year. In some areas of Delhi, the water table is 80 meters below ground, down from around 40 meters in 2000. In a trip to Delhi last year, Circle of Blue co-founder and director J. Carl Ganter witnessed the city’s water stress firsthand in the Sangram Vihar neighborhood. Like countless areas of Delhi, the informal settlement is not connected to the city’s water network, forcing residents to rely on alternative water sources.

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https://www.circleofblue.org/2019/india/groundwater-plummets-in-delhi-city-of-29-million/

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