Quantification of Groundwater Recharge and Pumping from Different Land Uses in Kanpur District (Uttar Pradesh), India

Abstract

Groundwater has been recognized as an essential water source due to its low pollution susceptibility and large storage capacity. In comparison to surface water, groundwater is relatively safe and reliable. Therefore, it is essential to evaluate groundwater use and its availability for long-term sustainable water management planning. The most important aspects for sustainable water management are estimation of groundwater recharge and water supply schemes. A study was carried out in the Kanpur district to estimate groundwater pumping (GP) and groundwater recharge (GR) from different land cover used in the last 10 years (2009-2019). Assessment of GP and GR were done as per the guidelines of the Ground Water Resource Estimation Methodology–1997 (GEC-97). The results indicated that groundwater is utilized highest as agricultural water consumption then for urban land requirements. Groundwater recharge varied from 30974 ha-m to 39577 ha-m and pumping varied between 12584 ha-m and 47054 ha-m. Since groundwater recharge is higher than its pumping in the study area, it determines that the area is lying under the safe category.