Theme-IV-5-Network design for groundwater monitoring - A case study from Amritsar district, Punjab

Abstract

Monitoring of groundwater regime is the backbone of the any groundwater resource evaluation or management project. Uncertainties become large if the number of observation points is less and the network is not able to represent the actual groundwater conditions. Collection of data is both time consuming and expensive exercise. Beyond certain number of observation points, the improvement in monitored variable is not much as compared to the cost involved in monitoring. Therefore, there is a need to develop an optimal groundwater observation well network to minimize the uncertainty of groundwater monitoring and minimize the time and cost of monitoring. Present paper evaluates the existing network of groundwater monitoring in Amritsar District of Punjab. The study indicates that the existing network of 81 observation wells is not adequate to represent the groundwater table in the Amritsar District, due to presence of number of canals and rivers. Based on the network design, 104 observation points are required to monitor groundwater table accurately.