Falling Water Tables and Groundwater Sustainability in India

Freshwater is a vital resource for which there is no substitute. Most of the freshwater on Earth is locked in ice caps, but of the remaining available freshwater more than 90 % is below ground. Compared to surface water bodies, groundwater is relatively protected from contamination by overlying soils and geologic sediments. Thus, groundwater resources are ideal for human consumption. India’s human population is more than 1 billion with an annual growth rate of approximately 1.9 % (Census of India 2001). The people of India depend upon groundwater resources for survival. Yet, water tables are falling at an alarming pace across India, threatening the future of India’s water supply with significant human and ecological impacts already evident. For example, in Andhra Pradesh, a southern state of India (Figure 1), the groundwater in 26 of 46 mandals (similar to counties in the USA) are characterized as ‘overexploited ’ (CGWB, 2006). India’s Central Groundwater Board cites as reasons for this stress increasing population, deficient monsoons, unregulated wells, and economic pressures such as farmers ’ dependency on loans for costly agricultural inputs and fluctuations of product value on international markets (CGWB, 2006). Poverty stricke