GROUNDWATER WATER DAY SPECIAL How bad is it already Aquifers under most stress are in poor and populated regions, where alternatives are limited Shrinking source Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin in 145 km3 21 8 India, Nepal and Bangladesh, More than half of the world's major aquifers, The amount of of world's 37 largest aquifer of these 21 aquifer systems North Caucasus Basin in Russia groundwater the systemsÐshaded in redÐlost are overstressed, which and Canning Basin in Australia which store groundwater, are depleting faster world extracts water faster than they could be means they get hardly any have the fastest rate of depletion than they can be replenished every year recharged between 2003 and 2013 natural recharge in the world Aquifer System where groundwater levels are depleting Pechora Basin Tunguss Basin (in millimetres per year) 3.038 1.664 Aquifer System where groundwater levels are increasing Northern Great Ogallala Aquifer Cambro-Ordovician Russian Platform Basin (in millimetres per year) 4.011 Yakut Basin Plains Aquifer (High Plains) Aquifer System 2.888 Map based on data collected by 4.954 0.309 2.449 NASA's Grace satellite between 2003 and 2013 Paris Basin 4.118 Angara-Lena Basin 3.993 West Siberian Basin Californian Central Atlantic and Gulf Coastal 1.978 Valley Aquifer System Plains Aquifer 8.887 5.932 Tarim Basin Song-Liao Basin North Caucasus Basin 0.232 2.4 Northwestern Sahara Aquifer System 16.097 Why aquifers are important 2.805 Nubian Aquifer System 2.906 North China Aquifer System Only three per cent of the world's water is freshwater; Murzuk-Djado Basin 7.501 30 per cent of which comes from aquifers 4.275 Taoudeni-Tanezrouft Basin Indus Basin Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin Freshwater sources 0.496 4.263 19.564 68.7% Arabian Aquifer System Amazon Basin Senegalo-Mauritanian Basin 9.13 Icecaps and glaciers 7.128 4.647 Ogaden-Juba Basin 30.1% Iullemeden-Irhazer 0.335 Groundwater Aquifer System 2.414 Sudd Basin (Umm Ruwaba Aquifer) 2.855 1.2% Lake Chad Basin Great Artesian Basin Surface/other freshwater Congo Basin Maranhao Basin 1.042 10.601 6.713 4.848 How we use it Upper Kalahari-Cuvelai- Lower Kalahari-Stampriet Basin Canning Basin Guarani Aquifer Upper Zambezi Basin 3.196 9.41 70% 24.283 Irrigation System 0.579 22% Karoo Basin Others, including industrial uses 5.588 8% Why we should worry The world will start to feel the impact of groundwater depletion by 2050 Domestic consumption Some of the aquifers Prepared by DTE/CSE Data Centre 1.8 billion 6,000 km3 25% in India, Pakistan, Infographics: Raj Kumar Singh people would live in areas additional water will be of the rise in sea levels southern Europe and Analysis: Kiran Pandey and Rajit Sengupta Data source: FAO, UN and Water Resources Research journal where groundwater levels are required annually to feed the will happen because of the western US would For more such infographics visit: www.downtoearth.org.in/infographics fully or nearly depleted ever-growing population groundwater extraction dry out 42 DOWN TO EARTH 16-31 MARCH 2017 16-31 MARCH 2017 www.downtoearth.org.in 43 .