Groundwater Conservation

Do you know more than half of the world’s population drinks groundwater every day? Maybe you are also one of them!

Groundwater, i.e., the water flowing beneath the surface we live in, isn’t it a fascinating subject? Have you ever wondered where this underground water comes from? Or if it is always inside the ground, how does it come outside? When it is raining, we see raindrops falling on the ground, but soon the collected water disappears. Do you know where it goes? Come on, let us find out together.

What is Groundwater?

The water flowing below the surface or ground is referred to as groundwater. Technically, we don’t see groundwater flowing, unlike we see the water present in rivers, lakes, ponds etc. And the things we cannot see, we can only make speculations about them. But the scenario with groundwater is a little different, thanks to the scientific analysis and observations that gave detailed insight into the world of groundwater.

Definition of Groundwater

“Water that percolates down from the soil surface travels from the crack’s rocks and sediments and deposits into the empty space underground, i.e., in the saturated zone is known as Groundwater”

The saturated zone lies just above the impervious layer of rocks. Thus, the water cannot seep below the saturated zone.

Uses of Groundwater

As we can see that groundwater is one of those resources which are available in almost every part of the globe. As per the current statistics, groundwater provides us with 36% of the total potable water globally. Along with that, it is estimated that 42% of the agricultural, as well as 24% of the industrial water, also comes from groundwater.

Talking about the domestic supply, this water contributes about 37% of the sources used for drinking water. Especially in rural areas, the majority of the population relies on this undersurface water for their day-to-day water needs. In this way, groundwater meets the need of one-third of humanity all around the globe.

One can say that groundwater is a hidden resource of water which replenishes wells and sustains wetlands and rivers in dry periods. In this way, it acts as a buffer to climate variability by serving the role of a water reservoir.

Furthermore, it also imparts stability to the soil and prohibits seawater intrusion. Widely held agro-based crops, cash crops and more than half of the world’s crop production are irrigated by the groundwater.

Why is water conservation necessary?

One can stay alive without food for up to 2 months, but no one can go without water for more than 3 days. By this, the importance of water in our life in be easily judged. The proportion of drinking water is already low on our planet and is depleting day by day. Thus, it becomes crucially important for us to save water and conserve it as a precious resource.

Groundwater Pollution

As the concepts like urbanisation, industrialisation, and mechanisation were introduced into our lives, we started deteriorating the available resources in one or the other way. Groundwater also got affected by this. Man-made products like gasoline, road salts, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, toxic chemicals, motor oil and so forth are all responsible for polluting the water.

These chemical agents seep inside the soil surface and mix with the underground water to contaminate it. Underground pipelines of toxic chemicals, oils or septic tanks also infiltrate contamination into the water beneath the ground.

Potential Ways of Water Contamination

Uncontrolled use of chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, and artificial fertilisers for agriculture.
Dumping hazardous waste in the ground.
Leakage or cracks in septic tanks, chemical pipelines, etc.
Poor domestic drainage systems.
Seepage of car battery acids, paints, households, paints).

Some useful methods for groundwater conservation are mentioned below.

Change your daily habits

It is often seen that people keep the water tap running while brushing their teeth. Do you even realise how much water is wasted during this time? The answer is 5 gallons of water. Yes, if you keep the tap running, you waste that much water every day.

Similarly, some of us like or actually love to take baths. So, sometimes we spend several minutes in the bathroom, just standing under the shower. So, let me tell you that if you are taking a shower for about 5 minutes, you are wasting around 15-25 gallons of water. And if your shower time exceeds by 10 minutes, this water wastage increases by 40 gallons.

Isn’t it surprising that we are unknowingly wasting so much water on a daily basis? And since most of the houses have submersibles and borewells these days, thus ultimately, the groundwater is getting wasted.

So, now you know very well what habit you need to change.

Proper Chemical Disposal

As stated above, mixing the chemicals in underground water deteriorates its quality and damages it. There, we need a proper disposal mechanism for the dumping of these chemicals. Especially the agricultural chemicals like herbicides, pesticides etc., that directly penetrate the soil prove to be the most harmful contaminants for the water. Thus, one should avoid or at least reduce their usage as much as possible.

Besides that, the industrial effluents that are discarded as leftover water after production are also potential contaminants of the groundwater. The factories should strictly monitor and control the disposal of this chemical waste. Along with that, the Government should also make laws and charge fines to those who do not abide by the safety of our natural resources.

Reusing Water

The water purifiers in our homes release wastewater which is unfit for drinking. But don’t you think that wastewater can be reused somewhere else? For instance, if you collect that water, you can wash your cars, bikes etc., with that, or you could just use it in your cooler. Similarly, the water that we use to wash veggies and grains in our kitchen can be reused for watering plants.

Aren’t they some cool ways to reuse water? Can you think of some?

Repair the damaged

The leakages and cracks in septic tanks, oil and chemical pipelines are one of the most critical causes of underground water contamination. We should keep a proper check over such damages before they can cause severe harm.

Reduce the dependency on groundwater

Nowadays, the abstraction of groundwater has increased by fourfold. All the sectors, including domestic, agriculture, industrial etc., mainly rely on groundwater to meet their water demands. This increases the burden and diminishes the level of groundwater.

A perfect alternative to this condition is reducing the liability on the under-surface water and switching on rainwater. You must have heard about the concept of rainwater harvesting. However, it’s a good technique yet not very prevalent.

This technique mainly focuses on collecting rainwater in tanks and using this water to meet our daily needs.

Fix the Drip

There is a famous saying, “Drop by drop fills the ocean”. Let us suppose you have a leaking tap that leaks 10 drips of water in a minute and 14,400 drips in a day. This makes around 3 litres of water every day, 21 litres in a week, 90 litres in a month, and 1095 litres in a year. This much water gets wasted drip by drip.

So, it becomes our moral duty not to overlook this as a small issue because it can cause bigger harm.

Growing awareness of water usage

It’s high time now that we should realise the importance of water, no matter in which form. Whether rainwater, groundwater or river water, all sorts of water are utterly necessary for our sustainable survival.

Thus, it is our responsibility to increase awareness regarding this issue and get actively involved in water education camps. We must try to spread awareness among the people about the concepts of reusing and reducing the use of water.