New Delhi: Most of the capital has seen a decrease in groundwater table with four meters or more, decadal analysis carried out by the Central Soil Water Agency (CGWB) between 2005 and 2014 has shown.
Newer analysis says Delhi loses groundwater at an average of 0.2 meters every year.
While Delhi has the potential to utilize 457 million cubic meters of surface runoff water runoff, waterlogging on the streets during the first rain this season shows the capital fails to capture most.
According to data, around 87% of Delhi’s monsoon occurred between June and September (533.1mm from 611.mm rainfall), making it a key period to refill the magnitude of groundwater.
DECADAL DATA CGWB shows that while groundwater tables have dropped 2-4 meters in almost every location, Delhi parts along the Yamuna floodland, Central Delhi, southwest near Najafgarh and the northwestern part have shown an increase, showing more refills Extraction.
For Central Delhi, rainfall harvesting has played an important role with a number of government buildings that utilize these units to increase groundwater refills.
According to the National Project for the Aquifer Management Report (Naquim) released by CGWB recently, areas such as JNU and Sanjay Van recorded good ground water refills, but right next to it typical Hauz and the larger Kailash showed sufficient extraction , More than what is refilled through collecting rainwater.
The Naquim report recommends groundwater extraction only along the plains of Yamuna floods or in the north and northwest of Delhi, while also highlighting poor groundwater quality in the southwestern district, mostly along Najafgarh and Dwarka.
The latest CGWB data from May 2019 shows that of 73 wells analyzed in Delhi, six have a depth of more than 40 meters below the ground (MBGL) and 13 wells between 20 and 40 MBL.
The deepest points are 62.6 MBGl in the southern district, while the shallow point is in the south western district at 1.1 MBGL.
The northern district has the best water level, everything ranges from 2 and 10 MBL.
Diwan Singh, a water activist, who has worked on the rise of several waterbodies in Dwarka, said the simple use of stormwater waterways can help capture millions of liters of rain, which can be transferred to recharge holes or waterbodies.
“Over time, this waterbodies recharge the ground water table naturally.
Instead of letting the rainwater throw away, there is a way to better use it,” he added.