ANNOUNCEMENTS
Chomu and Kaladera Watersheds which are in the south of Govindgarh Block, Jaipur district are not naturally endowed with plentiful of water resources. Ground water is the only dependable source of water for all uses. The present sector-wise utilization by domestic, industrial and agricultural sector shows that the use exceeds natural recharge. Excess use is shown in terms of depletion in groundwater tables. This has resulted in increased competition for want of more water use and higher allocations amongst the users. Hence there is a need for proper allocation and management of this resource in the sustainable manner. This requires hydrogeological, water balance and water demand study of the watersheds in order to come out with the recommendations that address the interventions required for managing groundwater resource of the study area.
Hence the objective of this study is to evaluate the hydrogeology; water balance and water demand at a watershed scale and suggest appropriate groundwater resource management strategies. The objective has been met through primary field surveys and secondary data analysis done for the study area. Analysis shows that both the watersheds are over-exploited with rainfall being low and temporally varied. High temperature, a characteristic of sub-humid zones, results in high evaporation rates of surface water. Soils are sandy and sandy loams and have good infiltration rates. Groundwater exists in unconfined state since the depth of these soils is high. Agriculture is found to be the main occupation and also a major consumer of groundwater followed by industry and domestic sector. The analysis done therefore brings out a case of designing interventions that enhance groundwater recharge including water demand management. This is followed by evaluation of groundwater flow directions and an estimate of aquifer properties (such as high hydraulic gradients, good transmissivity zones) based on flow-net methodology.
Ground water recharge using shafts have seemed to be suitable for the region and are recommended. Also there is an enough scope for roof water harvesting as about 50 % of the houses are ’Pakka’ in the region. These systems could be connected to recharge shafts as well. Other recommendations include a need for community participation, participatory irrigation management, water policy and suitable cropping systems that could conserve groundwater use.
