Experts participating in a panel discussion organised by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) here recently stressed the need for regular monitoring to protect and conserve groundwater resources in Kerala. The meeting proposed a pilot project involving the CGWB and the State Planning Board for efficient monitoring of groundwater. It recommended the use of satellites to uplink groundwater monitoring stations across the State. The panel discussions proposed a collaborative effort involving the Centre for Earth Science Studies, the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, the Oil and Natural Gas Commission, the National Institute of Oceanography and the CGWB to study the impact of global warming on the coastal aquifer system. Highlighting the need for detailed, long-term studies on the subject, it called for strengthening the monitoring network and assessing the extent of submergence of coastal tracts and islands and seawater ingress and consequent changes in the groundwater regime. It called for studies to create a database on the impact of sand-mining on groundwater. The panel proposed the establishment of a drilling division for the CGWB in Kerala.
The Hindu, 25th August 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment