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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Double whammy of groundwater in India -- declining reserves and rising carbon emissions -Dinesh C Sharma

Double whammy of groundwater in India -- declining reserves and rising carbon emissions -Dinesh C Sharma

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published Published on Nov 16, 2018   modified Modified on Nov 16, 2018
-The Hindu Business Line

Researchers say that environmental problem of groundwater depletion is much more serious than carbon dioxide emissions associated with it

New Delhi:
Over-extraction of groundwater is a major environmental challenge in many parts of India. It is not only leading to rapid decline in groundwater reserves but also contributing to India’s carbon emissions, a new study has warned.

Billions of litres of groundwater pumped out every year contributes to carbon emissions in two ways - emissions released due to the pumps used for extracting water and carbon dioxide released due to bicarbonate extraction. Most of the groundwater reserves or aquifers contain sand, gravel, clay, and calcite. Hydron ions react with calcite and create bicarbonate and calcium. When groundwater is exposed to the atmosphere, carbon dioxide is released while calcite is precipitated.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, have assessed carbon emissions due to pumping as well as bicarbonate extraction using data related to energy requirement of pumping and chemistry of the groundwater. They have found that the total (pumping and bicarbonate) estimated annual carbon dioxide emission from groundwater in India is between 2 to 7 percent of the total annual carbon dioxide emissions from India.

The total carbon emissions from the groundwater sector have been estimated to be between 32 to 131 million tonnes a year. The carbon dioxide emissions due to bicarbonate (about 0.72 million tons per year) are far less than by those due to groundwater pumping (31 to 131 million tons per year) in India, according to the study.

The estimates are based on data from the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellite mission of NASA. The data covered groundwater well parameters like specific yield, bicarbonate concentration and use of electric pumps. CGWB monitors groundwater tables at 24,000 locations across the country. The board also monitors groundwater quality in the pre-monsoon season when the concentrations of bicarbonate ions are maximum.

The distribution on pumps, which are predominantly used for irrigation, for each state at different depths was obtained from the census of minor irrigation. This helped in calculating energy required for groundwater pumping. Electric pumps cover about 70% of the total available pumping energy sources in the country. However, the Gangetic plain region is dominated by diesel pumps.

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The Hindu Business Line, 15 November, 2018, https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/double-whammy-of-groundwater-in-india-declining-reserves-and-rising-carbon-emissions/article25505377.ece


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