Abstract
Groundwater-level monitoring provides crucial information on the nature and status of aquifers and their response to stressors like climate change, groundwater extraction, and land use changes. Therefore, the development of a spatially distributed long-term monitoring network is indispensable for sustainable groundwater resource management. Despite being one of our greatest unseen resources, groundwater systems are too often poorly understood, ineffectively managed, and unsustainably used. This study investigates the feasibility of establishing a groundwater monitoring network mobilizing citizen scientists. We established a network of 45 shallow monitoring wells in the Kathmandu Valley using existing wells. We recruited 75% of the citizen scientists through personal connections and the rest through outreach programs at academic institutes and site visits. We used various methods to encourage citizen scientists to complete regular measurements and solicited feedback from them based on their experiences. Citizen scientists were more consistent during the monsoon season (June through September) than non-monsoon seasons. The depth-to-water below the ground surface varied from − 0.11 m (negative sign represents a groundwater level higher than the ground surface) to 11.5 m, with a mean of 4.07 m and standard deviation of 2.63 m. Groundwater levels began to rise abruptly with the onset of monsoon season and the shallowest and the deepest groundwater levels were recorded in peak rainfall months and dry months respectively. Citizen science-based groundwater monitoring using existing wells would be an economic and sustainable approach for groundwater monitoring. Improved groundwater-level data will provide essential information for understanding the shallow groundwater system of the valley, which will assist concerned authorities in planning and formulating evidence-based policy on sustainable groundwater management.
Highlights
Groundwater, which constitutes roughly 98% of the Earth’s freshwater supply, is an important part of the natural water system (Krishan & Rao, 2017)
Groundwater levels began to rise abruptly with the onset of monsoon season (July) and the shallowest groundwater levels were recorded in peak rainfall months (July and August), while the deepest groundwater levels were recorded in dry winter months (February, March, and April)
One monitoring well (ID 31) lay outside the watershed boundary, it was included in the network since it was in an adjacent area still hydrogeologically connected to the Kathmandu Valley and no other monitoring wells were identified in that grid
Summary
Groundwater, which constitutes roughly 98% of the Earth’s freshwater supply, is an important part of the natural water system (Krishan & Rao, 2017). Around 2 billion people extract groundwater to fulfil their drinking needs (Morris et al, 2003). Groundwater is fundamental for irrigated agriculture (Foster & Chilton, 2003; Giordano, 2009; Shah, 2007) and groundwater-dependent ecosystems (Alley et al, 2002; Rohde et al, 2017; Sophocleous, 2002). Groundwater systems are dynamic and primarily influenced by changes in climate, groundwater extraction, and land use (Taylor & Alley, 2001; Thapa et al, 2019). Groundwater is often poorly understood, ineffectively managed, and unsustainably used (Kaur & Rosin, 2007). Overexploitation and contamination are major challenges for sustainable groundwater management. Groundwater management is challenging from both quantity and quality perspectives; characterizing groundwater quality and introducing and spreading contaminants, and estimating
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