Abstract
Groundwater is a critical and strategic natural resource. Globally, it plays a pivotal role in meeting societal demands and providing ecosystem services. Across large areas, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, increasing extraction of this resource is causing over-exploitation and depletion. The main manifestations in such cases are: fall in groundwater levels and subsequent dwindling yield or drying up of water wells, rise in groundwater salinity, reduced environmental flow in rivers, shrinking inland wetlands, saline water intrusion in coastal aquifers, subsidence of land, and a host of associated implications. Such a situation potentially adversely impacts agricultural production and food security, widens inequity, and triggers social tension and conflicts. Climate change is further adding woes to the situation with unpredictable rainfall, increasing temperatures, and rising seawater levels. Rainwater harvesting has been practiced since the dawn of some of the oldest civilisations in different corners of the world to ameliorate water shortfall. Managed groundwater recharge , also referred to as artificial recharge or managed aquifer recharge, is a later idea, being practiced increasingly over the last six decades or so as a dominant supply-side intervention to augment groundwater availability and reliability of water supply in general, but importantly during droughts and dry periods. This chapter provides an introductory view on managed groundwater recharge and rainwater harvesting (MGR/RWR), their objectives and possible synergies, efficacy, impacts, policies, and practices, illustrating their diverse benefits in developing countries across a wide array of terrain, land use, geology, and climatic conditions. The chapter also gives a synopsis of eighteen ensuing chapters from a wide range of contributors representing fifteen countries, illustrating the multitude of applications of rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge augmentation and management, providing useful lessons for a broader audience.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
References
AbdelKhaleq RA, Ahmed IA (2007) Rainwater harvesting in ancient civilizations in Jordan. Water Supply 7(1):85–93. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2007.010
Al-Kharabsheh A (2000) Ground-water modelling and long-term management of the Azraq basin as an example of arid area conditions (Jordan). J Arid Environ 44(2):143–215. https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.1999.0580
Alam MF, Pavelic P, Villholth KG, Sikka A, Pande S (2022) Impact of high-density managed aquifer recharge implementation on groundwater storage, food production and resilience: a case from Gujarat, India. J Hydrol Reg Stud. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2022.101224
Ali S, Shekhar S, Kumar R, Brindha K, Li P (2023) Genesis and Mobilization of fluoride in groundwater of India: statistical evaluation, health impacts, and potential remedies. J Hazard Mater Adv 100352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazadv.2023.100352
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (2001) Standard Guidelines for Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, EWRI/ASCE 34–01(ASCE Standard No. 34–01)
BGS (2002) The effectiveness of artificial recharge of groundwater, a review. British Geological Survey, Commercial Report. CR/02/108M. Gale I, Neumann I Carlow R, Monech I
Bekele E, Toze S, Patterson B, Higginson S (2011) Managed aquifer recharge of treated wastewater: water quality changes resulting from infiltration through the vadose zone. Water Res 45:5764–5772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.08.058
Bores TM, Ben-Asher J (1982) A review of rainwater harvesting Agricultural Water Management. 5:145—158
Bouwer H (2002) Artificial recharge of groundwater: hydrogeology and engineering. Hydrogeol J 10:121–142
CGWB (2007) Manual of artificial recharge of groundwater, Central Ground Water Board, Govt of India. https://cgwb.gov.in/documents/Manual-Artificial-Recharge.pdf.
Dashora Y, Cresswell D, Dillon P, Maheshwari B, Clark R, Soni P, Singh PK (2022) Hydrologic and cost–benefit analysis of multiple check dams in catchments of ephemeral streams, Rajasthan. India. Water 14:2378. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14152378
de Graaf IEM, van Beek RLPH, Gleeson T, Moosdorf N, Schmitz O, Sutanudjaja EH, Bierkens MFP (2017) A global-scale two-layer transient groundwater model: Development and application to groundwater depletion. Adv Water Resour 102:53–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2017.01.011
Dillon P, Pavelic P, Toze S, Rinck-Pfeiffer S, Martin R, Knapton A, Pidsley D (2006) Role of aquifer storage in water reuse Desalination 188:123–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2005.04.109
Dillon D, Vanderzalm J, Sindu J, Page D, Chadha D (2014): A water quality guide to MAR in India. https://recharge.iah.org/files/2016/11/A-Water-Quality-Guide-to-MAR-in-India-2014.pdf
Dillon P, Stuyfzand P, Grischek T, Lluria M, Pyne RDG, Jain RC, Bear J, Schwarz J, Wang W, Fernandez E, Stefan C, Pettenati M, van der Gun J, Sprenger C, Massmann G, Scanlon BR, Xanke J, Jokela P, Zheng Y, Rossetto R, Shamrukh M, Pavelic P, Murray E, Ross A, Bonilla Valverde JP, Palma Nava A, Ansems N, Posavec K, Ha K, Martin R, M, (2019) Sixty years of global progress in managed aquifer recharge. Hydrogeol J 27(1):1–30
Fatema S, Marandi A, Zahid A, Hassan MQ, Hossain MA, Schüth C (2018) Seawater intrusion caused by unmanaged groundwater uses in a coastal tourist area, Cox’s Bazar. Bangladesh. Environ Earth Sci 77:75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7260-6
Fattovich R (1990) Remarks on the Pre-Aksumite period in northern Ethiopia. J Ethiopian Stud 23:1–33
Foster SSD, Chilton PJ (2004) Downstream of downtown: urban wastewater as groundwater recharge. Hydrogeol J 12:115–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-003-0296-y
Gado T, El-Agha D (2020) Feasibility of rainwater harvesting for sustainable water management in urban areas of Egypt. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:32304–32317
Gee GW, Hillel D (1988) Groundwater recharge in arid regions: review and critique of estimation methods. Hydrol Process 2(3):255–266
Getachew A (1999) Rainwater harvesting in Ethiopia: an overview. In: 25th WEDC conference on integrated development for water supply and sanitation, Addis ABabba, Ethoipia, file:///C:/Users/Dipankar%20saha/Downloads/387.pdf
Ghosh S, Umashankar M, Chowdhury S (2020) Modelling water resources in the ancient indus valley City of Dholavira and lessons learnt. In: Subramanian B, Chen SS, Reddy K (eds) Emerging technologies for agriculture and environment. Lecture notes on multidisciplinary industrial engineering. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7968-0_17
Gleeson T, VanderSteen J, Sophocleous AA, Taniguchi M, Alley WM, Allen DM, Zhou Y (2010) Commentary: Groundwater sustainability strategies. Nat Geosci 3:378–379. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo881
Hoppe-Jones C, Oldham G, Drewes JE (2010) Attenuation of total organic carbon and unregulated trace organic chemicals in u.s. riverbank filtration systems. Water Res 44:4643–4659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2010.06.022
Ibkar A, Mukherjee A, Didwania N, Rai S (2023) Impact of urbanization on groundwater in changing climatic scenario: a case study. Chapter 17 In: Thambidurai P, Dikshit AK (eds) Impacts of urbanization on hydrological systems in India. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21618-3_17
Kalantari N, Rangzan K, Shripad ST (2010) Rahimi M H (2010) Site selection and cost-benefit analysis for artificial recharge in the Baghmalek plain. Khuzestan Province, Southwest Iran, Hydrogeol J 18:761–773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-009-0552-x
Keesari T, Sinha UK, Saha D, Dwivedi SN, Shukla RR, Mohokar H, Roy A (2021) Isotope and hydrochemical systematics of groundwater from a multi-tiered aquifer in the central parts of Indo-Gangetic Plains, India–Implications for groundwater sustainability and security. Sci Total Environ. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147860
Konikow LF, Kendy E (2005) Groundwater depletion: a global problem. Hydrogeol J 13:317–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-004-0411-8
Kumar MD, Patel A, Ravindranath R, Singh OP (2008) Chasing a mirage: water harvesting and artificial recharge in naturally water-scarce regions 43(35):61–71
Mays L, Antoniou G, Angelaki A (2013) History of water cisterns: legacies and lessons. Water 5:1916–1940
Mukherjee A, Saha D, Harvey CF, Taylor RG, Ahmed KM, Bhanja SN (2015) Groundwater systems of the IndianSub-Continent. J Hydrol: Regional Stud. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2015.03.005
Murray EC, Tredoux G (2002) Pilot artificial recharge scheme: testing sustainable water resource development in fractured aquifers. Water Research Commission Report No. 967/1/02, Pretoria. ISBN 1-86845-883-0
Ouelhazi H, Lachaal F, Charef A, Challouf B, Chaieb H, Horriche F (2014) Hydrogeological investigation of groundwater artificial recharge by treated wastewater in semi-arid regions: Korba aquifer (Cap-Bon Tunisia). Arab J Geosci 7:4407–4421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-013-1090-3
Pandey DN, Gupta AK, Anderson DM (2003) Rainwater harvesting as an adaptation to climate change. Curr Sci 85(1):46–59
Patel P, Saha D, Shah T (2020) Sustainability of groundwater through community driven distributed recharge: an analyses of arguments for water scarce regions of semi-arid India. 2020, J Hydrol: Regional Stud. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100680
RIGW (1988) Hydrogeological Maps for Egypt. Research Institute for Groundwater (RIGW), Egypt
Reilly TE, Dennehy KF, Alley WM, Cunningham WL (2008) Ground‐water availability in the United States, U.S. Geol Surv Circ 1323. Available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1323/
Rodell M, Velicogna I, Famiglietti JS (2009) Satellite-based estimates of groundwater depletion in India. Nature 460:999–1002. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature08238
Saha D, Roy R (2018) Groundwater resources of India: Potential, challenges and management. In: Sikdar P (ed) Groundwater development and management, issues and challenges in South Asia. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75115-3_2
Saha D, Chakraborty M, Chowdhury A (2022a) Stubble burning in northwestern India is it related to groundwater overexploitation? In: Re V, Lilla R, Manzione TAA, Mukherji A, MacDonald A (eds) Groundwater for Sustainable livelihoods and equitable growth. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003024101-7
Saha D, Gor N (2020) A prolific aquifer system is in peril in arid Kachchh region of India. Groundw Sustain Dev. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2020.100394
Saha D, Marawaha S, Mukherjee A (2017) Groundwater Resources and Sustainable Management Issues in India. In: Saha D, Marwaha S, Mukherjee A (eds) Clean and sustainable groundwater in India
Saha D, Sikka AK, Goklani R (2022b) Artificial recharge endeavours in India: a review. Water Secur. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2022.100121
Saha D, Marwaha S, Dwivedi SN (2018) Groundwater resources and sustainable management in India. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4552-3_1
Scanlon BR, Keese KE, Flint AL, Flint LE, Gaye CB, Edmunds WM, Simmers I (2006) Global synthesis of groundwater recharge in semiarid and arid regions. Hydrol Process: Int J 20(15):3335–3370
Shamrukh M, Al-Muraikhi A, Al-Hamar Y (2012) Exploring of deep groundwater in the southwest aquifer of Qatar. In: The 10th Gulf Water Conference. Water Sciences and Technology Qatar, pp 1–13
Singh A, Saha D, Tyagi SAC (2019) A step towards water security in India. In: Singh A, Saha D, Tyagi AC (eds) Water governance: challenges and prospects. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2700-1_1
Valhondo C, Carrera J, Martínez-Landa L, Wang J, Amalfitano S, Levantesi C, Diaz-Cruz MS (2020) Reactive barriers for renaturalization of reclaimed water during soil aquifer treatment. Water 12(4):1012
Valhondo C, Martinez-Landa L, Carrera J, Ayora C, Nödler K, Licha T (2018) Evaluation of EOC removal processes during artificial recharge through a reactive barrier. Sci Total Environ 612:985–994
Wada Y, van Beek LPH, van Kempen CM, Josef WTM, Reckman JWM, Vasak S, Bierkens MFP (2010) Global depletion of groundwater resources. American Geophysical Union. Geophys Res Lett 37:L20402. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL044571
Zheng Y, Ross A, Villholth KG, Dillon P (eds) (2021) Managing aquifer recharge: a showcase for resilience and sustainability. UNESCO/IAH/GRIPP, p 379. ISBN: 978-92-3-100488-9. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379962
Acknowledgements
The Editors acknowledge the support extended by Dr. Amitava Bandopadhyay, Director General, Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre), New Delhi, India during the preparation of the manuscript. The contributions by the Authors from different countries of the world, which have been included in the book as chapters and summarised in this chapter are thankfully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 Centre for Science and Technology of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries (NAM S&T Centre)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Saha, D., Villholth, K.G., Shamrukh, M. (2024). Managed Groundwater Recharge and Rainwater Harvesting for Sustainable Development: Research, Practices, and Policies from Developing Countries. In: Saha, D., Villholth, K.G., Shamrukh, M. (eds) Managed Groundwater Recharge and Rainwater Harvesting. Water Resources Development and Management. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8757-3_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-8757-3_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-99-8756-6
Online ISBN: 978-981-99-8757-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)