Technical aspects of groundwater management

Abstract

The water balance forms the base for groundwater management. Inputs and outputs should be analysed according to their nature and quantified as accurately as possible. Over‐exploitation of aquifers will inevitably lead to a decline in water levels, and often also to an increase in salinity. Overcharging may cause waterlogging, in (semi‐)arid regions mostly associated with soil salinization. Ground‐water models are indispensable tools to predict the changes caused by human interference. In case of scarcity of data, simple models will be as effective as more sophisticated ones. A checklist summarizes the points to be considered in planning groundwater schemes, both for the case of overpumping and for the case of overcharging. Two examples are given, both dealing with over‐exploitation: salinization of a coastal aquifer (India) and groundwater mining in a continental region (USA).