Assessment of the Land-Use Pattern Changes and Its Impact on Groundwater Quality in Parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi, India

Abstract

The changes in land use pattern are known to have a profound impact on the groundwater regime of a region. These changes coupled with the process of concretization in growing urban clusters could influence the local groundwater dynamics, which in turn may influence the chemistry of the groundwater resources. In this context, a study was undertaken in parts of the National Capital Region (NCR) Delhi, a region that has seen significant urbanization in the last decade. Thus, the study tries to highlight the linkage between urbanization and groundwater dynamics along with their impact on overall groundwater quality in Sonipat and Rohtak districts of Haryana. The study uses maps and other available resources to observe the changes in land use pattern, groundwater dynamics and quality between 2006, 2010 and 2014 to assess the situation. The observations from this study highlighted the extent of urbanization and its supposed influence of groundwater quality in the area. It showed that the impact of land use pattern change on groundwater quality of Sonipat and Rohtak districts is uneven. Further, it also revealed that even though the eastern part of the study area showed evidence of heavy groundwater abstraction and urbanization, water quality has remained good in these areas between the year 2006 and 2014.