Kochi ground water level drops ahead of summer

KOCHI: Ernakulam district may be in for a severe water crisis going by the rapidly decreasing water level in wells, rivers and other water sources even before the onset of summer coupled with the depleting groundwater table. 

According to the groundwater information booklet of the Central Groundwater Board, Kerala region, which was prepared after conducting hydrological studies, groundwater level in certain parts of Ernakulam has  depleted by more than 35 per cent.

Parakkadavu, Vyttila, Paravoor and  Angamaly are some of the areas which fall under the semi-critical category. The CGWB has categorised various areas as safe, semi-critical, critical and over-exploited on the basis of the stage of development and long-term groundwater trend of water level.

The stages of groundwater development (the term used for indicating the level of exploitation) in Parakkadavu and Vyttila areas are  77.47 per cent and 50.68 per cent respectively, the worst in the district. The stage  in the country is 61 per cent.

District groundwater department sources told DC that though groundwater level in the district was  decreasing  gradually  for the last several years,  there has not been any sudden sharp dip. "We have been taking monthly data on groundwater level from various parts of the district" sources said.

According to the hydrology study of CGWB, some of the major issues in groundwater sector in Ernakulam are saline water intrusion  along the western parts of the district, brackish quality of water along tidal inlets and high level of pollution.

The ground water department records the water level every month through piezometers and the depth is measured in MBGL (metres below ground level).

Based on this, geologists assess the water availability and potential of ground water. The average depth of groundwater in Ernakulam is 5 to 15 MBGL.
CGWB has 21 piezometers and 49 wells in Ernakulam which are being regularly monitored.