Shortfalls and Challenges in Groundwater Regime Monitoring

Groundwater is exploited un-relentlessly worldwide, leading to severe resource shortages, reflected through a sharp decline in water levels and deterioration of water quality. Groundwater, a dynamic and renewable resource, needs continuous monitoring for its effective utilization and to meet the ever-increasing demand for water. Many non-government and government agencies have measured groundwater levels and their chemical quality over the past five decades. However, a cursory scan of the data, reports, and publications reveals that many countries still follow primitive practices of groundwater monitoring. Scant research publications and little R&D efforts are noticed in this domain. Lack of modernization in monitoring mechanism led to a paucity of real-time and accurate data. There is an urgent need to draw the attention of monitoring agencies toward updating monitoring strategies using the latest technology. System analysis is required for process standardization and the design of protocols to revitalize groundwater regime surveillance. Efforts are made to identify the areas of weakness which need immediate attention and explore the possibilities of engaging new techniques by adopting an out-of-box approach in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating the information on quantitative and qualitative indicators of groundwater to the end users in actionable form.