RIVER YAMUNA, THE GROUNDWATER IN
IT’S FLOOD PLAIN AND DELHI.
By
Dr. Shashank Shekhar
Department of Geology
University of Delhi
NCT DELHI
• Ever increasing population and urbanization
• Greater population Resources imbalance
• Water the basic life supporting element becoming scarce
day by day
• Gap in the demand and supply of drinking water to the
tune of 150-200 MGD.
• Limited availability of potable ground water in Delhi.
Published : Shekhar, Shashank, Raja Ram Purohit and Y B Kaushik. 2009.
Groundwater Management in NCT Delhi. In proceedings 5th Asian Regional
Conference of Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (INCID),
December 9-11, 2009, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Paper available on website:
http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/papers/INCID.html
214
248
Stage of Ground Water Development
112
88
150
129
130
200
136
171
250
35
100
50
West
Southwest
South
Noth west
North east
North
New Delhi
East
Central
0
After: Chatterjee, Rana, B K Gupta, S K Mohiddin, P N Singh, Shashank Shekhar and
Rajaram Purohit. 2009. Dynamic groundwater resources of National Capital Territory,
Delhi: assessment, development and management Options. Environ Earth Sci J.
59(3): 669-686, DOI 10.1007/s12665-009-0064-y.
Published : Shekhar, Shashank, Raja Ram Purohit and Y B Kaushik. 2009.
Groundwater Management in NCT Delhi. In proceedings 5th Asian Regional
Conference of Indian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (INCID),
December 9-11, 2009, Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Paper available on website:
http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/papers/INCID.html
Published : Shekhar, Shashank, Raja Ram Purohit and Y B Kaushik. 2009. Groundwater
Management in NCT Delhi. In proceedings 5th Asian Regional Conference of Indian
National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (INCID), December 9-11, 2009, Vigyan
Bhawan, New Delhi. Paper available on website:
http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/papers/INCID.html
POTENTIAL FRESHWATER AREAS FOR
LIMITED EXPLOITATION
• Active flood plain of river Yamuna and closely adjacent
areas.
• Hardrock areas of Delhi ridge.
• Dismally low potential Chhatarpur basin.
• Zone fringing hardrock areas.
• Freshwater lenses along Nallas, water bodies etc.
The Yamuna flood plain: Most potential area
for groundwater development
Source: CGWB
TRANSVERSE SUBSURFACE CROSS SECTION OF THE
YAMUNA FLOOD PLAIN TOWARDS BURARI IN PALLA WELL
FIELD.
Published : Shekhar, Shashank and R K Prasad. 2009. The groundwater in Yamuna
flood plain of Delhi (India) and the management options. Hydrogeology J. 17(7):
1557-1560. DOI: DOI 10.1007/s10040-008-0430-y
The Palla Well Field in Yamuna flood plain of Delhi- A Model
of Sustainable Groundwater Development and Management.
•
IT IS THE ONLY AREA OF THE NW DISTRICT IN PARTICULAR AND
NCT DELHI IN GENERAL HAVING CONSIDERABLE FRESHWATER
THICKNESS IN THE RANGE OF 35 TO MORE THAN 65 METERS.
•
THE YAMUNA RIVER IN THIS STRETCH OF STUDY AREA HAS NO
VISIBLE MAJOR DRAINS JOINING IT AS SUCH IT IS POLLUTION FREE.
•
THE AREA GENERALLY GETS FLOODED DURING POST MONSOON
INUNDATION OF THE RIVER YAMUNA WHERE THERE IS SCOPE FOR
NATURAL RECHARGE TO SUBSURFACE AQUIFERS BY SURFACE
SPREADING METHODS DURING MONSOON FLOODS.
•
THE AREA OFFERS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY OF MASSIVE
GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION TO THE TUNE OF DEWATERING
DURING PEAK MONSOON PERIOD AND REFILLING THE DEWATERED
ZONE BY INDUCED RECHARGE FROM SURFACE SPREADING OF
FLOOD WATERS DURING POST MONSOON TIMES.
DEPTH TO GROUNDWATER LEVEL AND
GROUND WATER FLOW
• THE GENERAL DEPTH TO GROUNDWATER
IN THE AREA HAVE BEEN FOUND IN THE
RANGE OF 5.0 METERS BELOW GROUND
LEVEL
• ON REGIONAL SCALE THE GROUND WATER
FLOW
CONVERGES TOWARDS PALLA
SECTOR , CAN BE SEEN FROM MAP IN NEXT
SLIDE.
GROUND WATER QUALITY
• The heavy metal and arsenic concentration in the randomly
selected tubewell ground water samples was found to be within the
permissible limit.
• The electrical conductivity of the ground water was found in the
range of 350 to 650 micro siemens / cm at 25 Degree Centigrade
depending on the location and depth of the aquifers tapped .
• The pH of the groundwater samples was found in the range of 7-8.
• All the other major elements concentration was found within the
permissible limit.
LOCATION OF THE TUBEWELLS IN PALLA SECTOR
’
0
77°1 2’30”
28 52 30
”
N
Group 1
Group 2
WELL
LOCATIONS
Group3
Group 4
0
’
28 50 00
RIGHT M ARGINAL
EM BANKMENT
Group 7
Group 5
”
LEFT M ARGINAL
E MBANKM ENT
Group 6
River Yamuna
0
Group 8
’
28 47 30
”
Generalized well designs of the T.W
Generalized well designs of the T.W cont.
After paper published : Rao, S V N, Sudhir Kumar, Shashank Shekhar, S K Sinha and
S Manju. 2007. Optimal pumping from Skimming Wells from the Yamuna river flood
plain in north India. Hydrogeology J. 15(6): 1157-1167, DOI 10.1007/s10040-0070173-1
• The palla wells are suggested to be operated on
guiding philosopy of skimming wells, to restrict
upconing of saline waters.
• So to have optimal spacing, the operation of the
wells is staggered both in space and time.
• Nearly 25-30 MGD of water can be drawn safely
during both monsoon and non monsoon
seasons to meet drinking water standards(
salinity less than 1000 mg/litre)
After paper published : Rao, S V N, Sudhir Kumar, Shashank Shekhar, S K Sinha and
S Manju. 2007. Optimal pumping from Skimming Wells from the Yamuna river flood
plain in north India. Hydrogeology J. 15(6): 1157-1167, DOI 10.1007/s10040-0070173-1
• Palla well field helps in utilizing the induced flood
recharge, which would otherwise join river
boundary.
• The Palla model of groundwater development
can be replicated in other sectors of the Yamuna
flood plain and flood plain of other rivers in India.
• The hope in polluted stretches of river lies in
RBF whereby the contaminants gets removed
and schemes like supplementary drain, large
STPs etc.
Some suggestions
An extract from paper: Shekhar, Shashank and R K Prasad. 2009. The
groundwater in Yamuna flood plain of Delhi (India) and the management
options. Hydrogeology J. 17(7): 1557-1560, DOI 10.1007/s10040-0080430-y :
“The NCT of Delhi, being the capital of India, could find itself to be in
emergency situations where the installations that supply drinking water
may be threatened by natural disasters like earthquake, etc., war, or
deterioration in quantity/quality of Delhi’s share of the river water coming
through the open canal system. In such situations, the drinking water
supply system to Delhi may be jeopardized. The fresh groundwater from
the Yamuna flood plain can then be pumped and supplied to different
affected parts of Delhi by tanker. It may be worthwhile to assess the
maximum abstraction of groundwater from the Yamuna flood plain in
emergency situations and the amount of diversion of floodwater needed
to replenish subsurface aquifers in such cases”.
Concluding Remarks
• The fresh groundwater resources
in the Yamuna flood plain of
Delhi is a strategic resource and
must be managed in judicious
way like all other strategic
natural resources.