Augmenting groundwater resources by artificial recharge (AGRAR): progress of activities May-November 2003

Progress of the DFID-funded KAR project entitled “Augmenting Groundwater Resources by Artificial Recharge” – AGRAR (R8169), was reviewed in early November 2003 at the three research sites and during a meeting of all partners in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Draft inception reports for the three research sites and review reports for the two ancillary studies were presented and discussed by all partners. It was agreed that final draft versions of these reports would be prepared by mid-December 2003 for publication on the project web page in January 2004. The delay in initiating the instrumentation and surveys at the three research sites has resulted in significant loss of data during the 2003 monsoon season. However, the conceptual understanding of the sites has improved and aspects that need to be monitored have been more closely identified. For example, the understanding gained from monitoring water levels in wells around recharge structures has helped in the siting of observation boreholes that are currently being drilled in preparation for monitoring through the forthcoming monsoon season. The work undertaken, at some of the research sites, by the related ComMan1 project has provided a valuable basis on which to build in order to achieve the distinct objectives of AGRAR. This has been especially the case with the rural livelihoods surveys which, in ComMan, have addressed the issue of demand management in the context of community approaches to managing groundwater resources, and have set out to examine whether hydrogeological, institutional and socio-economic conditions exist to enable such user-based schemes to be set-up and sustained. The AGRAR project will complement these activities by focusing on the potential and effectiveness of augmenting groundwater resources, while ComMan will concentrate on the challenges associated with controlling the demand for groundwater. Surveys and methodologies have therefore been designed to build on the findings of ComMan in order to specifically address the impacts of artificial recharge structures on the livelihoods of the communities. The AGRAR project was commissioned by DFID to address the specific issue of the effectiveness of artificial recharge structures, from both the technical and socio-economic perspectives. This is being done in the context of other projects being undertaken by a range of organisations; government, NGOs and researchers. Contact with these organisations has been maintained in order to learn from their experience and hence avoid duplication. A brief review of the relationship of the activities of AGRAR in relation to other projects is given.