Abstract
The province of Punjab is the main food basket of India. In recent years, many regions of Punjab are facing acute waterlogging problems and increased secondary salinity, which have negative impacts on food security of the nation. In particular, these problems are more pronounced in the Muktsar district of Punjab. The observed groundwater levels trend between 2005 and 2011 implies that groundwater levels are coming towards the land surface at the rate of 0.5 m/year in Lambi and Malout blocks. In this study, a groundwater flow model was constructed using MODFLOW to understand the groundwater table dynamics and to test the groundwater evaporation ponds to draw down the groundwater levels in the waterlogging areas of Muktsar district. The predicted flow model results indicate that groundwater levels could be depleted at the rate of 0.3 m/year between 2012 and 2018 after the construction of Groundwater Evaporation Ponds (GEP). In addition, the constructed ponds can be used for aquaculture that generates additional income. The proposed GEP method may be a promising tool and suitable for the reduction of waterlogging in any region if there is no proper surface drainage, and also for enhancement of agricultural production that improves the social and economic status of the farming community.
Highlights
For the last two decades, the degradation of land and water resources due to increased population and extensive land use change has been challenging the future agriculture sustainability of India [? ? ?]
The groundwater flow was calibrated under a steady state condition for June 2005, and it ran in transient conditions from 2005 to 2008
In the Muktsar district, the waterlogging and salinity conditions are mostly prevailing in the Malout, Kotbhia and Lambi blocks
Summary
For the last two decades, the degradation of land and water resources due to increased population and extensive land use change has been challenging the future agriculture sustainability of India [? ]. Degradation of water resources, increased soil salinity and waterlogging problems have been widely reported as a major threat to sustainable agricultural production. The soil salinity and waterlogging are two major burning issues in the irrigated lands, and these problems are more pronounced in arid regions of India [? Most of the salt affected areas and shallow water table conditions are located in northwestern India, Ganges old alluvial plains, and dry moisture regions in the western part of. Fertile and productive land of about 2.8 million hectares in the Indo-Ganges alluvial plains in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pardesh, Delhi, Bihar and Rajasthan states are gradually becoming unproductive due to waterlogging and secondary salinization [?
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