International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 11, Issue 9, September 2020, pp. 1471-1481, Article ID: IJM_11_09_142 Available online at http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=9 ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510 DOI: 10.34218/IJM.11.9.2020.142 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed PROSPECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF DEPLETION OF GROUNDWATER IN MEERUT DISTRICT 1998 TO 2016 Dr. Krishna Sharma Doctorate in Geography, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttarakhand, India ABSTRACT Water is the most essential elements of our life. Water is a unique gift of human for nature, without water life cannot sustain. Water is distributed on earth as fresh water and salt water, in which 97.5 % being salt water and only 2.5 % being fresh water. Groundwater depletion is defined as the term when water level declines caused by groundwater pumping. Depletion of water resources is an environmental problem. Increasing population has resulted in demand for water increases. Groundwater depletion is mainly caused by regular groundwater pumping Groundwater is the main source of fresh water in Meerut district but groundwater is depleting at very fast rate. In Meerut water is declining at an alarming rate. Some of the reservoirs in various parts of Meerut district deplete permanently and situation gets worse. Rapid expansion of groundwater use in Meerut has resulted in a steep decline in the groundwater table in vast areas of the Meerut district. Key words: Elements, Depletion, Pumping, Permanently, Reservoirs. Cite this Article: Dr. Krishna Sharma, Prospects and Consequences of Depletion of Groundwater in Meerut District 1998 to 2016, International Journal of Management, 11(9), 2020, pp. 1471-1481. http://iaeme.com/Home/issue/IJM?Volume=11&Issue=9 1. INTRODUCTION The earth is known as the „blue planet‟ because it appears blue from the earth surface, thus earth is considered to be a unique planet in our solar system. Water is transparent and colorless liquid whose chemical formula is H2O. It means water contains one molecule of oxygen and two molecules of hydrogen. It is important for sustaining all forms of life like human and animals, vegetation, food production and economic development. It is impossible to live without water for any human being or for any living creature on earth. Water is a unique gift of human for nature, without water life cannot sustain. Water is distributed on earth as fresh water and salt water, in which 97.5 % being salt water and only 2.5 % being fresh water1. On earth saline or salt water is in the form of oceans, which is unfit for human http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJM 1471 [email protected] Prospects and Consequences of Depletion of Groundwater in Meerut District 1998 to 2016 use and for other use because it contains salt. About 4% is locked in polar ice caps and remaining 1% is fresh water. Only 0.1% is available as fresh water in rivers and lake, which is suitable for human use. The fresh water on earth is also distributed in the form of ice, snow, ground water and soil moisture; thus only 0.3% is in liquid form. The Ground water is great importance for human day to day life, Safe drinking water is important for human and for other living being even it provides no calories or nutrients. Water is essential for human life but out of all forms of water groundwater is most important for human life. Groundwater is water present below earth‟s surface in soil pore spaces, in the fractures of rock formations or groundwater is the water that seeps through rocks and soil and is stored below the ground2. The rocks in which ground water is stored are called aquifers. Aquifers are made up of gravel, sand, sandstone and limestone. Water moves through these rocks because they have large connected spaces that make them permeable. The area where water fills the aquifer is called saturated zone. Groundwater flow through shallow aquifers but in technical sense it contains soil moisture also. Groundwater is essential for human day to day activity. Groundwater is used for drinking, in agriculture, industries and for many other activities. In October 1970, the Ministry of Agriculture upgraded the Exploratory Tube-wells organization into the central Ground water Board (CGWB) merging it with the “Ground water Regional Directorates and District offices of the Geological Survey of India to efficiently shoulder the ground water investigation programs which started functioning from August 1972. “As an apex body at the national level, the Board is concerned with all matters relating to exploration, assessment, development, management and regulation of the country‟s ground water resources”. Large scale ground water investigation programs have been taken up since 1967 in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu with the support of the UNDP, the Canadian assisted project in AP, the upper Betwa River Basin project in MP and UP with UK assistance, Narmada valley project in MP, Vedavathi and Tungabhadra River Basin in Karnataka under UK assistance and many such project. Groundwater depletion is defined as the term when water level declines caused by groundwater pumping. Depletion of water resources is an environmental problem. Increasing population has resulted in demand for water increases. Groundwater depletion is mainly caused by regular groundwater pumping, “the water stored in the ground can be compared to money kept in bank account. If we withdraw money at faster rate without depositing money then we start having account supply problem. Like that if we extract or pump groundwater at very fast rate without recharging groundwater water will get extinct. Some of the negative effects of groundwater depletion are drying up of wells, reduction of water in streams and lakes, deterioration of water quality and increased pumping costs. Groundwater is the main source of fresh water in Meerut district but groundwater is depleting at very fast rate. In Meerut water is declining at an alarming rate. Some of the reservoirs in various parts of Meerut district deplete permanently and situation gets worse. Rapid expansion of groundwater use in Meerut has resulted in a steep decline in the groundwater table in vast areas of the Meerut district. This has caused to drying up of a huge number of wells, low productivity, and deteriorating ground water quality and also salinity increases in many areas. Shallow wells are running dry and the depth of tube wells is increasing every year. As the population is increasing extraction of groundwater is also increasing. Apart from this, low availability, poor accessibility and deteriorating water quality due to pollution and contamination are responsible for many problems. Global environmental change caused by natural variability and human activities affect both water quantity and quality. The available surface water resources are not sufficient to http://iaeme.com/Home/journal/IJM 1472 [email protected] Dr. Krishna Sharma meet all the water requirements for all needs. The need for groundwater has increased over years. Needless to say that water is perhaps the scariest commodity of the 21stcentury. On the global scale it is assessed that over the next two decades, water use by human beings will increase by 40% and that 17% more water will be needed to grow more food for the increasing population. When the country gained independence in 1947 the per capita availability of water was 6000cubic meters and had only 1000 bore holes in the country but today with population crossing one billion mark the per capita availability has fallen to 2300cubic meters which is further expected to go down to 2000 cubic meters by the year 2015 though the number of bore holes have increased to more than 6 billion. Population explosion has led to augment in demand for water in almost every sphere of life. Nearly 900 million people of the world are not receiving their drinking water from improved water sources (The global annual assessment report 2010) use of water has increased six-fold over the 20th century i.e. at a rate twice as high as the rate of world population growth. The united nation(UN) World water development report of 2006 ranked India 133rd among 180 countries in terms of availability of water and at the bottom 120th position amongst 122 nations is in term of its quality, in spite of world‟s 4 % fresh water resource. India is considered as water stressed and in the coming years is likely to become water scare country. As per UN standards, per capita availability of water below 1000 cubic meters is termed as water scarcity. By 2025 water scarcity is India will be acute. UN report 2006 show India‟s arises deepening. The per capita water ease of use in the country has reduced to one third of 1951 and is estimated to fall to one fourth by 2005.Uttar Pradesh is having vast resources of underground water but due to huge development of irrigation programs and increasing population; there has been alarming trend of depletion of ground water table in rural area. In urban areas on one hand due to rapid urban development, areas for natural recharge has become insignificant and on the other hand withdraw of underground water has increased to meet the requirement of water for drinking and domestic purpose, hence in these areas also the water table is going down at fast rate. Due to rapid increase in population withdrawal of underground water also increases. In another 15 to 20 years, nearly 52% of India‟s population lives in mega and metro cities including Meerut are the second largest city in the National capital region of India. According to 2011 census Meerut city is the 33rd most populous urban agglomeration and the 26th most populous city in India.