1) Groundwater depletion is a serious issue that impacts water availability and quality. Heavy extraction for agriculture, industry, and domestic use has led to falling groundwater levels in many parts of India. 2) Major causes of depletion include increased demand from various sectors and limited surface water resources. Green Revolution practices and lack of groundwater regulation have exacerbated the problem. 3) Impacts include the need to pump water from greater depths, shrinking of surface water bodies, saltwater contamination of aquifers, threats to food supply and biodiversity, and formation of sinkholes. 4) Solutions require restricting access to overexploited aquifers, adopting efficient irrigation techniques, community-based management, artificial re

1. Groundwater depilation and it’s effect
Submitted by:-
Vipul kumar
Registration no:-
20mscegs25
Under the guidence of:-
Proff Dr K. kshetrimayum
Department of geology
Central University of Punjab , Bathinda

2. Content
•Introduction
•Distribution of Earth’s Water
•Aquifers
•What is the meaning of ground water table depilation
•Major cause
•Impact
•Solutions
•Management and policy
•Conclusion
•Reference

3. Introduction
Groundwater makes up about 1% of the water on Earth (most water is in oceans).
But, groundwater makes up about 35 times the amount of water in lakes and streams.
Groundwater occurs everywhere beneath the Earth's surface, but is usually restricted to depths
less that about 750 meters.
The volume of groundwater is a equivalent to a 55 meter thick layer spread out over the entire
surface of the Earth.
It is an important resource for potable water, irrigation, and industry.
Because it is largely hidden from view, it is often forgotten and subject to contamination by
careless humans.
Groundwater is a primary agent of chemical weathering and is responsible for the formation of
caves and sinkholes.
Groundwater
Groundwater is water that exists in the pore spaces and fractures in rock and sediment beneath the
Earth's surface. It originates as rainfall or snow, and then moves through the soil into the groundwater
system, where it eventually makes its way back to surface streams, lakes, or oceans.

4. Distribution of Earth’s Water
Source:- Ministry of Jal Shakti

5. Aquifers
Confined
(groundwater is confined between
layers of clay, dense rock or other
materials with very low
permeability)
Unconfined
(Do not have a low-permeability
deposit above it. The top layer of
an unconfined aquifer is the water
table. )
Semiconfined
(One of the confining layer (Top
or bottom) is allowing some
leakage because of permeability)
Also called
Water Table
Aquifer
Also called
leaky aquifer

6. What is the meaning of ground water
table depilation
• Groundwater depletion is a serious threat to the environment. The majority
of our bodies and the Earth is made up of water. We may see the beautiful,
flowing surface waters that make up the oceans, lakes and rivers, but this
water is not always safe for consumption and is much more difficult to filter
than groundwater. Consequently, water from the ground is especially
valuable.
• Groundwater is something that we need all over the world. Humans and
animals need water in order to survive as our bodies could not function
without it. We also need water to assist us in growing crops, powering
equipment, and to keep us comfortable. Societies require much more clean
water than we are afforded from precipitation and surface water, which is
why groundwater is used so frequently.

7. FIG.1.GROUNWATER
DISTRIBUTION AMONG
DIFFERENT STATES
•GROUNDWATER IS AVAILABLE AT HIGHER
DEPTHS IN NORTHERN INDIA,WHICH CAN
BE MORE THAN 10 METRES.
•HIGHER DEPTH WATER CAN BE
EXTRACTED BY USING SOPHISTICATED
EQUIPMENTS.
(SOURCE:-CGWB)

8. - -

9. Major cause
Increased demand for water for domestic, industrial and agricultural needs and limited
surface water resources lead to the over-exploitation of groundwater resources.
There are limited storage facilities owing to the hard rock terrain, along with the added
disadvantage of lack of rainfall, especially in central Indian states.
Green Revolution enabled water intensive crops to be grown in drought prone/ water
deficit regions, leading to over extraction of groundwater.
Frequent pumping of water from the ground without waiting for its replenishment leads to
quick depletion.
Water contamination as in the case of pollution by landfills, septic tanks, leaky
underground gas tanks, and from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides lead to damage and
depletion of groundwater resources.
Inadequate regulation of groundwater laws encourages the exhaustion of groundwater
resources without any penalty.
Deforestation, unscientific methods of agriculture, chemical effluents from industries, lack
of sanitation also lead to pollution of groundwater, making it unusable.

10. Impact
1. Groundwater depletion will force us to pump water from deeper within the Earth. The more we
extract groundwater right below the Earth’s surface, the further down we have to go in order to get more.
As we have to extract water from deeper within the Earth, we find that there is less water available.
Consequently, we will have to use even more resources to develop alternative methods to reach further into
the ground.
2. Large bodies of water will become more shallow from groundwater depletion. A groundwater shortage
keeps additional water from flowing into lakes, rivers and seas. This means that over time, less water will
enter as the existing surface water continues to evaporate. As the water becomes less deep, it will affect
everything in that particular region, including fish and wildlife.
3. Saltwater contamination can occur. We may pump groundwater instead of sourcing it from lakes and
rivers, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t connected to larger bodies of water. Groundwater that is deep
within the ground often intermingles with saltwater that we shouldn’t drink. When freshwater mixes with
saltwater, it is called saltwater contamination. This sort of contamination would raise the prices of drinking
water for everyone because it will cost much more to pump and filter.

11. Impact
4. As large aquifers are depleted, food supply and people will suffer. The depletion of the Colorado River
and the Ogallala aquifer serve as examples of large groundwater reserves that are being depleted, despite
how necessary they are to our economy and well-being. The Ogallala aquifer has been collecting
groundwater for thousands of years, and its water resources have to be shared among farmers and citizens.
Water from the Ogallala aquifer is used for irrigation throughout the Great Plains. So much water is being
taken from this aquifer that there is no time for it to refill. Unfortunately, strict orders are not in place to
regulate how much water can be pumped from this reservoir, which could have a devastating effect on the
crops and people who live there.
5. A lack of groundwater limits biodiversity and dangerous sinkholes result from depleted
aquifers. Aquifers collect groundwater and are extremely important. For example, the residents near the
Gulf of Mexico and Mexico City rely solely on aquifers. Wildlife, marine animals, and agriculture
continues to suffer near the Gulf of Mexico because the Mississippi River runoff from industrial
farming materials finds its way into the water. Parts of Mexico City are falling as the water table lowers
and creates sinkholes that destroy buildings and homes.

12. Solutions
•There should be restrictions to cut off the access to groundwater in areas identified as
"critical" and "dark zones", where the water table is overused or very low.
•There is a need to treat water as common resource rather than private property to
prevent its overexploitation Problems and issues such as water logging, salinity,
agricultural toxins, and industrial effluents, all need to be properly looked into.
•Research and scientific evaluations should be done before forming any policy. Water
depletion can be controlled by reducing electricity subsidies.
•Another way of efficiently using groundwater is by encouraging farmers to adopt
micro-irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation and micro-sprinklers. Government
has initiated schemes like DRIP programme, more drop per crop, Krishi Sinchai Yojana
to ensure economical water use practices in agriculture.

13. Solutions
•Bottom-up approach by empowering the local community to become active
participants in managing groundwater.
•Creating regulatory options at the community level such as panchayat is also one
among the feasible solutions.
•Traditional methods of water conservation should be encouraged to minimize the
depletion of water resources.
•Technology should be used extensively for determining the relationship between
surface hydrological units and hydrological units below the ground, identification of
groundwater recharge areas, mapping of groundwater etc.
•Artificial recharge of tube wells, water reuse, afforestation, scientific methods of
agriculture should also be done.
•Imparting key hydrogeological skills to nonprofits and rural practitioners to improve
decentralised water management in India.

14. Management and policy
• Central Water Commission
Initiating and coordinating schemes for the conservation and utilisation of water resources in the
country in collaboration with state governments; and monitoring water quality
• Central Ground Water Board
Developing and disseminating technology related to sustainable use of ground water; monitoring and
implementing policies for the sustainable management of ground water resources; estimating
ground water resources
• Central Ground Water Authority
Constituted under Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to regulate and control
development and management of ground water resources; can resort to penal actions and issue
necessary regulatory directives
• Central Pollution Control
Board Implementation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 which seeks to
restore water quality

15. • Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation for Protection of Sources of Drinking Water)
Act 1999
• Maharashtra Ground Water Regulation (Drinking Water Purposes) Act 1993
• In 2011, the government published a Model Bill for Ground Water Management
based on which states could choose to enact their laws.
• The Draft Model Building Bye-laws, 2015, the Ministry of Urban Development
has included a provision related to rain water harvesting.
Management and policy

16. Conclusion
• No single action whether community based, legislation, traditional
water harvesting systems, or reliance on market forces will in itself
alleviate the crisis in India.
• The effective answer to the freshwater crisis is to integrate
conservation and development activities from water extraction to
water management – at the local level
• Making communitie aware and involving them fully is therefore
critical for success. All this will ultimately pave the way for combining
conservation of the environment with the basic needs of people.

17. Reference
. What is Groundwater Depletion?
https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/causes-effects-solutions-of-
groundwater-depletion.php
. Overview of Ground Water in India Roopal Suhag February 2016
Ministry of Jal Shakti
. GROUNDWATER CRISIS IN INDIA
:: Drishti IAS Coaching in Delhi, Online IAS Test Series & Study Material