Groundwater Resource and Governance in Kerala Status, Issues and Prospects Dr. Ajaykumar Varma Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India Groundwater Resource and Governance in Kerala Status, Issues and Prospects Dr. Ajaykumar Varma March 2017 Groundwater Resource and Governance in Kerala: Status Issues and Prospects Author: Dr. Ajaykumar Varma © Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune, Maharashtra, India/ Kerala Resource Centre, Chalakudy Supported by: Arghyam, Bengaluru, India Cover Design and Layout by : Mudra, Pune. Cover Photograph : Dr. Ajaykumar Varma Published by : Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune c/o Society for Promoting Participative Ecosystem Management (SOPPECOM) 16, Kale Park, Someshwarwadi Road, Pashan, Pune 411 008 Maharashtra, INDIA Tel: +91-20-20251168 / 2588 6542 Fax: +91-020-2588 6542 Email: [email protected]/ [email protected] URL: waterconflictforum.org ; conflicts.indiawaterportal.org Copies are available at the above address First published in March 2017 The contents of this publication may be used with due acknowledgement of the source. Any form of reproduction, storage in a retrieval system or transmission by any means requires a prior written permission from the publisher. Citation : Varma, A. (2017). Groundwater resource and governance in Kerala: Status, Issues and Prospects. Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India, Pune Contributory Price : Rs. 200/- Index Acronyms vii Foreword and Acknowledgement ix 1. Assessment of groundwater situation in Kerala 1 to 15 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Significance of Groundwater 2 1.3 Source of Groundwater 3 1.4 Occurrence of Groundwater 13 1.5 Groundwater Monitoring 14 2. Groundwater Resource Potential 16 to 40 2.1 Introduction 16 2.2 Groundwater Level during Different Seasons 16 2.3 Groundwater Level Fluctuation and Trend 17 2.4 Groundwater Estimation Procedure 23 2.5 Groundwater Development 28 2.6 Groundwater Resource Potential of Kerala 31 2.7 Conflicting Scenario in Groundwater Availability 31 2.8 Static Groundwater Resource 36 2.9 Submarine Groundwater Discharge 37 2.10 Artificial Groundwater Recharge 38 3. Districtwise groundwater scenario 41 to 53 3.1 Aquifer Characteristics 41 4. Groundwater quality 54 to 66 4.1 Introduction 54 4.2 Physico-chemical Properties 56 4.3. Biological Properties 59 4.4 Pollution Potential 59 4.5 Management of Groundwater Quality 63 4.6 An Innovative Approach to Water Quality Monitoring 65 Groundwater Resource of Kerala | iii 5. Assessment of laws, policies and regulations on groundwater 67 to 89 5.1 Groundwater governance 67 5.2 Status of Groundwater Governance 68 5.3 Constitutional provisions 69 5.4 Central Groundwater Authority (CGWA) 70 5.5 Legal Position Regarding Groundwater in India 73 5.6 Regulation of Groundwater Use 75 5.7 Groundwater in National Environment Policy 77 5.8 Groundwater in National Water Policy 78 5.9 Groundwater in State Environment Policy 79 5.10 Groundwater in State Water Policy 80 5.11 Groundwater Regulation in Kerala 80 5.12 Regulatory Experiences from other States 82 5.13 Experience with Water Market in India 86 5.14 International Experience in Groundwater Governance 87 6. Way Forward 90 to 96 6.1 Emerging scenario- Significance, Surplus and Scarcity 90 6.2 Groundwater Protection and Conservation 91 6.3 Groundwater Rights and Duties 91 6.4 Identification of Groundwater Protection Zones 92 6.5 Demarcation of Protection Zones 92 6.6 Prioritization of the Use of Groundwater 93 6.7 Institutional framework 93 6.8 Water Harvesting and Catchment Conservation 94 6.9 Groundwater Extraction 95 6.10 Pricing or Industrial Use of Groundwater 95 6.11 Conjunctive use of Groundwater and Surface Water 96 References 97 to 104 iv | Groundwater Resource of Kerala List of Tables Table 1.1: Spatial variation of rainfall 5 Table 1.2: Temporal variation of rainfall 5 Table 1.3: Infiltration rate of different surface earth material (In cm/hour) 6 Table 1.4: Porosity, Permeability and Specific yield of various geologic formations 7 Table 1.5: Terrain units and area 11 Table 2.1: List of Monitoring wells showing falling water levels trend of more than 19 0.1 m/yr for the period 1980 – 2005 Table 2.2: Criteria for categorization of assessment units 26 Table 2.3: No. of assessment units in various districts where different methods are 27 adopted for estimation Table 2.4: Data variable used for the assessment of Dynamic Groundwater 33 Resource Potential Table 2.5: District-wise Dynamic Groundwater Resource Potential of Kerala 34 Table 2.6: Long-term scenario of groundwater resource potential and 35 development in Kerala Table 3.1: Characteristics of aquifers in various districts of Kerala 41 Table 4.1: Summary of physical, chemical and biological properties of groundwater 55 Table 4.2: Number of parameters exceeding the desirable limit per district 56 Table 5.1: Regulatory mandates of various government agencies in India on 74 groundwater use Groundwater Resource of Kerala | v List of Figures Figure 1.1 Water cycle 4 Figure 1.2 Broad physiographic zones of Kerala 8 Figure 1.3 Drainage map of Kerala 9 Figure 1.4 Soil map of Kerala 10 Figure 1.5 Geology of Kerala 12 Figure 1.6 Generalized hydrogeological map of Kerala 13 Figure 1.7 Location of monitoring wells 15 Figure 2.1 Pre-monsoon water level trend for the period 1999-2008 19 Figure 2.2 Post monsoon water level trend for the period 1998-2007 19 Figure 2.3 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 20 aquifer in laterites at Edamon, Kollam district Figure 2.4 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 20 aquifer in laterites at Edakkad, Kannur district Figure 2.5 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 21 aquifer in laterites at Thekethukavala, Kottayam district Figure 2.6 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 21 aquifer in laterites at Vaythiri, Wayanad district Figure 2.7 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 22 aquifer in laterites at Palai, Kottayam district Figure 2.8 Hydrograph of groundwater monitoring wells tapping phreatic 22 aquifer in laterites at Palakkad district Figure 2.9 Fluctuations in groundwater resource potential and stage 32 of development vi | Groundwater Resource of Kerala ACRONYMS AAR Annual Average Rainfall APFAMGS Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems ARDC Agriculture Refinance and Development Corporation CGWA Central Groundwater Authority CGWB Central Groundwater Board CPCB Central Pollution Control Board CRA Crystalline Rock Aquifers CWC Central Water Commission CWRDM Centre for Water Resources Development and Management EPA Environment Protection Act GEC Groundwater Estimation Committee GoI Government of India GoK Government of Kerala GPGSP Gram Panchayat Groundwater Security Plan GPZ Groundwater Protection Zone KSEB Kerala State Electricity Board KSLUB Kerala State Land Use Board KWA Kerala Water Authority MoCI Ministry of Commerce and Industry MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forests MoRD Ministry of Rural Development MoUD Ministry of Urban Development MoWR Ministry of Water Resources MWRRA Maharashtra Water Resources Regulation Authority NABARD National Bank for Rural Development Groundwater Resource of Kerala | vii NAGA Net Annual Groundwater Availability NAGD Net Annual Groundwater Draft NEM North-East Monsoon NOC No Objection Certificate NWC National Water Commission PIM Participatory Irrigation Management RBMA River Basin Management Agency RIF Rainfall Infiltration Factor SDG Submarine Discharge of Groundwater SGWD State Groundwater Department SPCB State Pollution Control Board SWM South-West Monsoon TAGR Total Annual Groundwater Recharge TNEA Tamil Nadu State Electricity Board TRA Tertiary Rock Aquifers WALTA Water, Land and Trees Act WHO World Health Organisation WLF Water Level Fluctuation WQAA Water Quality Assessment Authority WRD Water Resources Department viii | Groundwater Resource of Kerala Foreword and Acknowledgement The state of Kerala, once considered water rich, is increasingly facing seasonal water scarcity. Multiple reasons including decline of its river systems, loss of large extend of wetlands and paddy fields, increasing demand, over-exploitation of available resources, pollution, etc., have contributed to this scarcity. The Groundwater Resource Potential of Kerala, as per the Groundwater Evaluation Committee (2012) is 6029 Mm3. This is only around 12-13% of the total utilisable water availability in the state. However, groundwater plays a crucial role in meeting the water requirement of the state, especially its domestic water requirement. As per Census 2011, about 62% of the population of Kerala depend on groundwater for the purpose of drinking water. Bulk of this is from around 65 lakh open wells. The Kerala Water Authority reported that during the year 2003, 48% of the then total 45 lakh wells in the state dried up during summer. This percentage must have increased as more and more wells are becoming seasonal. Dr. Ajaykumar Varma, the author of this report, says, “The hydrological importance of the river systems, wetlands, ponds, tanks, irrigation canals, etc., in sustaining the groundwater system is either not understood or not taken seriously at the grassroots level and, therefore, the environmental abuse on these systems is on the increase. The thick and highly porous and permeable sand bed in rivers is now more or less removed thereby the river bed storage of water for the lean season is almost lost. As a result,