Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India
The Ganga Basin in India experiences problems related to water availability, water quality and ecological degradation because of over-abstraction of surface and groundwater, the presence of various hydraulic infrastructure, discharge of untreated sewage water, and other point and non-point source po...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/12/2443 |
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| author | Marnix van der Vat Pascal Boderie Kees (C.) A. Bons Mark Hegnauer Gerrit Hendriksen Mijke van Oorschot Bouke Ottow Frans Roelofsen R.N. Sankhua S.K. Sinha Andrew Warren William Young |
| author_facet | Marnix van der Vat Pascal Boderie Kees (C.) A. Bons Mark Hegnauer Gerrit Hendriksen Mijke van Oorschot Bouke Ottow Frans Roelofsen R.N. Sankhua S.K. Sinha Andrew Warren William Young |
| author_sort | Marnix van der Vat |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Ganga Basin in India experiences problems related to water availability, water quality and ecological degradation because of over-abstraction of surface and groundwater, the presence of various hydraulic infrastructure, discharge of untreated sewage water, and other point and non-point source pollution. The basin is experiencing rapid socio-economic development that will increase both the demand for water and pollution load. Climate change adds to the uncertainty and future variability of water availability. To support strategic planning for the Ganga Basin by the Indian Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the governments of the concerned Indian states, a river basin model was developed that integrates hydrology, geohydrology, water resources management, water quality and ecology. The model was developed with the involvement of key basin stakeholders across central and state governments. No previous models of the Ganga Basin integrate all these aspects, and this is the first time that a participatory approach was applied for the development of a Ganga Basin model. The model was applied to assess the impact of future socio-economic and climate change scenarios and management strategies. The results suggest that the impact of socio-economic development will far exceed the impacts of climate change. To balance the use of surface and groundwater to support sustained economic growth and an ecologically healthy river, it is necessary to combine investments in wastewater treatment and reservoir capacity with interventions that reduce water demand, especially for irrigation, and that increase dry season river flow. An important option for further investigation is the greater use of alluvial aquifers for temporary water storage. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:25:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ccfcf44c5c4f42e1be2b7f7221cde53e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T06:25:16Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-ccfcf44c5c4f42e1be2b7f7221cde53e2022-12-22T03:44:11ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412019-11-011112244310.3390/w11122443w11122443Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in IndiaMarnix van der Vat0Pascal Boderie1Kees (C.) A. Bons2Mark Hegnauer3Gerrit Hendriksen4Mijke van Oorschot5Bouke Ottow6Frans Roelofsen7R.N. Sankhua8S.K. Sinha9Andrew Warren10William Young11Deltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsCentral Water Commission, New Delhi 110066, IndiaCentral Ground Water Board, New Delhi 110011, IndiaDeltares, 2600MH Delft, The NetherlandsWorld Bank, Washington, DC 20433, USAThe Ganga Basin in India experiences problems related to water availability, water quality and ecological degradation because of over-abstraction of surface and groundwater, the presence of various hydraulic infrastructure, discharge of untreated sewage water, and other point and non-point source pollution. The basin is experiencing rapid socio-economic development that will increase both the demand for water and pollution load. Climate change adds to the uncertainty and future variability of water availability. To support strategic planning for the Ganga Basin by the Indian Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and the governments of the concerned Indian states, a river basin model was developed that integrates hydrology, geohydrology, water resources management, water quality and ecology. The model was developed with the involvement of key basin stakeholders across central and state governments. No previous models of the Ganga Basin integrate all these aspects, and this is the first time that a participatory approach was applied for the development of a Ganga Basin model. The model was applied to assess the impact of future socio-economic and climate change scenarios and management strategies. The results suggest that the impact of socio-economic development will far exceed the impacts of climate change. To balance the use of surface and groundwater to support sustained economic growth and an ecologically healthy river, it is necessary to combine investments in wastewater treatment and reservoir capacity with interventions that reduce water demand, especially for irrigation, and that increase dry season river flow. An important option for further investigation is the greater use of alluvial aquifers for temporary water storage.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/12/2443integrated water resources managementriver basin planningganga riverindiaparticipatory modellingconjunctive water usehydrologic modelling |
| spellingShingle | Marnix van der Vat Pascal Boderie Kees (C.) A. Bons Mark Hegnauer Gerrit Hendriksen Mijke van Oorschot Bouke Ottow Frans Roelofsen R.N. Sankhua S.K. Sinha Andrew Warren William Young Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India Water integrated water resources management river basin planning ganga river india participatory modelling conjunctive water use hydrologic modelling |
| title | Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India |
| title_full | Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India |
| title_fullStr | Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India |
| title_short | Participatory Modelling of Surface and Groundwater to Support Strategic Planning in the Ganga Basin in India |
| title_sort | participatory modelling of surface and groundwater to support strategic planning in the ganga basin in india |
| topic | integrated water resources management river basin planning ganga river india participatory modelling conjunctive water use hydrologic modelling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/12/2443 |
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