Abstract
Water is essential for economic, social, and environmental development. Global water resources are vulnerable due to increasing demand related to population growth, pollution potential, and climate change. Competition for water between different sectors is increasing. To meet the increasing demand, the use of groundwater is increasing worldwide. In this paper, the water-table dynamics of the north-eastern region of Bangladesh were studied using the MEKESENS software. This study reveals that the depth to water-table (WT) of almost all the wells is declining slowly. In many cases, the depth will approximately double by the year 2040, and almost all will double by 2060, if the present trend continues. If the decline of the water-table is allowed to continue in the long run, the result could be a serious threat to the ecology and to the sustainability of food production, which is vital for the nation’s food security. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken to sustain water resources and thereby agricultural production. Demand-side management of water and the development of alternative surface water sources seem to be viable strategies for the area. These strategies could be employed to reduce pressure on groundwater and thus maintain the sustainability of the resource.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alley WM, Leake SA (2004) The journey from safe yield to sustainability. Ground Water 42(1):2–16
BADC (Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation) (2008) Minor irrigation survey report 2007–08. Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, p. 122
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) (2008) Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics of Bangladesh. Ministry of Planning, The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh
Chawla JK, Khepar SD, Sondhi SK, Yadav AK (2010) Assessment of long-term groundwater behavior in Punjab, India. Water Int 35(1):63–77
Gilbert RO (1987) Statistical methods for environmental pollution monitoring. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York
Gurria A (2009) Sustainably managing water: challenges and responses. Water Int 34(4):396–401
Mojid MA, Talukder MSU, Ahmed M, Alam MS (1994) Recharge and depletion characteristics of Muktagacha aquifer, Mymensingh. Bangladesh J Agril Sci 21(1):49–59
Molina J, García-Aróstegui JL, Bromley J, Benavente J (2011) Integrated assessment of the European WFD implementation in extremely overexploited aquifers through participatory modelling. Water Resour Manage. doi:10.1007/s11269-011-9859-1
Qureshi AS, McCornick PG, Sarwar A, Sharma BR (2010) Challenges and prospects of sustainable groundwater management in the Indus Basin, Pakistan. Water Resour Manage 24:1551–1569
Salmi T, Maatta A, Anttila P, Airola TR, Amnell T (2002) Detecting trends of annual values of atmospheric pollutants by the Mann-Kendal test and Sen’s slope estimates—the excell template application MAKESENS. User manual, Publication on air quality, Finish Meteorological Institute, p 35
Sarkar AA, Ali MH (2009) Water-table dynamics of Dhaka city and its long-term trend analysis using the “MAKESENS” model. Water Int 34(3):373–382
Villholth KG, Rajasooriyar LD (2010) Groundwater resources and management challenges in Sri Lanka—an overview. Water Resour Manage 24:1489–1513
World Water Day (1998) Groundwater: the invisible resource. http://www.worldwaterday.org/wwday/1998/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2011
Yin D, Shu L, Chen X, Wang Z, Mohammed ME (2011) Assessment of sustainable yield of karst water in Huaibei, China. Water Resour Manage 25:287–300
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ali, M.H., Abustan, I., Rahman, M.A. et al. Sustainability of Groundwater Resources in the North-Eastern Region of Bangladesh. Water Resour Manage 26, 623–641 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9936-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-011-9936-5