Jal Shakti Ministry plans a network of groundwater sensors to monitor quality, contamination levels
Recently the Ministry of Jal Shakti is planning to set up a groundwater sensor network to monitor water quality and contamination levels.
- The objective of this scheme of the Ministry is to provide continuous information about the level of groundwater as well as the extent of contamination up to the taluka level.
- The reports of the Central Ground Water Board are based on a network of about 26,000 ground water monitoring wells. At present, the measurement of ground water level in an area is done manually.
Benefits of setting up a groundwater sensor network:
- Ground water levels can also be monitored in the same way as air quality levels and meteorological variables.
- The forecast of ground water level will be made available to the farmers. This will help them in sowing.
- Updated advice on ground water levels will be made available. This will help the states to formulate policies related to groundwater exploitation.
- According to the World Bank, India is the largest user of groundwater in the world. Groundwater provides about 80 percent of the country’s drinking water and two-thirds of its irrigation needs.
Steps taken for ground water administration in India –
- The Ministry of Jal Shakti has been formed. It was formed by merging the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
- Initiatives like Atal Bhujal Yojana and National Aquifer Management Project have been launched for effective management and regulation of groundwater.
- Heli-borne based survey system has been adopted for rapid and accurate aquifer mapping.
- India Groundwater Resource Estimation System (IN-GRES) software has been adopted.
- A mobile application called Jaldoot has been launched to monitor the ground water level across the country.
Source – The Hindu
