IISc to prepare aquifer plan for parched districts

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), under the Ministry of Water Resources on Friday entered into Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru for development of ground water flow models and preparation of aquifer management plans in 11 parched districts in Karnataka.

According to the plan, IISc will develop ground water flow models and prepare aquifer management plans in 48,000 sq km area in Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Bagalkot, Bengaluru Rural, Belagavi, Ballari, Chitradurga, Davangere, Gadag, Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts. The MoA was signed by Dipankar Saha, member, CGWB and V Rajarajan, registrar, IISc, here.

The study, which will be completed in one year, will help better understand existing groundwater scenarios, predicting response of groundwater system to various stress conditions and developing effective management plans incorporating different demand and supply side interventions, said a statement from the Ministry of Water Resources.

The final study report will include data analysis, hydrogeological setting, conceptualisation and model study plan, calibration, validation and sensitivity analysis, groundwater related issues, response of groundwater system to different scenarios and block-wise management plans.