Master thesis

Gloria Mozzi (2019)
Structure scale impact of widespread managed aquifer recharge implementation in Gujarat, India. Master thesis, Technische Universität Dresden, August 2019
(joint supervision with the International Water Management Institute - IWMI)

Abstract

The state of Gujarat is located in an arid to semi-arid area in western India. Throughout history, the state has witnessed several famines and droughts, and the region continues to be subjected to water stress due to high inter and intra annual rainfall variability, further exacerbated by climate change and population growth. As a result, groundwater represents a vital resource for drinking water and irrigation demand. Due to the rapid development of abstraction wells and the expansion of irrigated areas over the last decades, the region has been subjected to a groundwater crisis. To cope with the unsustainable use of this resource, the government promoted the implementation of decentralized water harvesting structures to capture water underground, so-called managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Many studies reported a significant replenishment of the water levels in the last decade, showing a reversal in the declining trends of groundwater storage. However, there is still a lack of scientific evidence regarding the causes of this groundwater recovery and different authors have proposed different possible drivers. This work aims to assess the impact of MAR on groundwater storage through a multi-scale analysis. This part of the study focuses on the analysis at the structure scale. The study area chosen for this analysis is the Bhadar basin, which has witnessed the strongest development of MAR structure among the state, mainly check dams.