Dip in groundwater levels hits Guwahatians

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The city of Guwahati has seen significantly low rainfall in the last few months, which has in turn led to a significant problem of water shortage in the city, and a large section of citizens are being forced to purchase water from commercial suppliers.

Although Guwahati is the largest city in northeast India and one of the major rivers of the country passes right through it, the city still lacks a comprehensive water supply system. Multiple leaders and parties had promised to complete the water supply project but have failed to establish a system that can supply clean, potable water continuously to homes across the city. As a result, a large section of Guwahatians has been forced to depend fully or partially on the groundwater. But overexploitation as well as the lack of a proper system to check for the amount of groundwater being drawn has led to a decrease in the water table year after year.

During the dry season, especially in the months of March, April, and May, the water level decreased considerably, and this caused even the household water pumps to fail as the water level went beyond their reach in some places. Some systems, however, which have been drilled much further into the ground, continue to access the groundwater.

 The continuous constriction of the wetlands in the city by either encroachment or the construction of a variety of projects has led to a gradual decrease in the amount of water that is able to penetrate the ground levels. This is another key reason for the fall in water levels. Another key issue is the fall in the water level in the Brahmaputra River, which is the single largest water body in the entire region. A small part of the water also penetrates the layers of soil and rock to replenish the groundwater, but with the fall in the water levels, the amount of water reaching the layer below has also decreased considerably.

It remains to be seen if some concrete steps are implemented towards the cleaning of river water and making it fit for consumption so that the citizens are not dependent only on groundwater for their daily needs and if a check can be put in place to ensure that there is no wastage of clean water.

Also Read: Departments mull solutions to dwindling groundwater levels in Guwahati (sentinelassam.com)

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