Efficient Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater Can Prevent Seasonal Death of Non-Glacial Linked Rivers in Groundwater Stressed Areas

Abstract

The surface and groundwater system is an interdependent system. In the case of alluvial plains, they are best manifested by the relationship between a river and groundwater system. This relationship is vibrant and dynamic in rain-fed rivers or the non-glacial linked rivers. It has been typically observed that many a case such rivers originate from lesser elevation and in downstream stretches; during summers, their flow is maintained by groundwater contribution. In groundwater stressed regions, often these rivers get disconnected from aquifer. Thus there could be different levels of stream-aquifer interaction during monsoon and non monsoon seasons. In this context, the article examines effect of long-term groundwater abstraction on such river flows in a conceptual framework. It also proposes efficient conjunctive use of surface and groundwater to prevent death of such rivers.

Modelling water levels of northwestern India in response to improved irrigation use efficiency

“…The Ghaggar River is a seasonal river that flows through the centre of the model space, and is dry during summer in many stretches; no seasonal discharge data are currently available. The groundwater levels in the Ghaggar basin have declined significantly, and the river is mostly disconnected from the groundwater system 21 . Hence, the river was not incorporated as a boundary in the groundwater model.…”