Prediction of Groundwater Dynamics for Sustainable Water Resource Management in Bogra District, Northwest Bangladesh

Mohammad Hasanuzzaman,Yinghua Zhang,Shakir Hussain,Dongmei Han,Xianfang Song

doi:10.3390/w9040238

Abstract

The green revolution in the northwest region of Bangladesh over the past three decades has based on groundwater irrigation. For sustainable agricultural accretion, groundwater dynamics play a vital role in this region. In this study, the groundwater level dynamics have been analyzed with a model named “MAKESENS” and with geographical information systems (GIS). The study indicates that, in most of the wells, the water table (WT) depth and the rainfall intensity are declining slowly. The prediction of WT depth during the period of 2020, 2040, and 2060 indicate that, in some cases, the WT depth will approximately double by the year 2060, considering the present declining trend. This result suggests that, for the sustainable management of groundwater, necessary measures should be adopted to avoid or reduce the severe ecological, social, and economic impacts of groundwater mining. Moreover, crop diversification, conservation techniques, increasing irrigation efficiency, rainwater harvesting, etc. can be adopted to avoid groundwater declination and consequently to enhance the sustainable use of groundwater resources in the area.

Highlights

Groundwater is an important resource serving as a reliable source of water for irrigation, and domestic and industrial purposes in many countries
The hydrographs exhibit that the water table (WT) depth at the beginning and end of the study period vary spatially
Except for a few cases, the WT depth showed a declining trend, and in many places, the WT depth falls below the lifting capacity of suction-mode pumps

Summary

Introduction

Groundwater is an important resource serving as a reliable source of water for irrigation, and domestic and industrial purposes in many countries. Due to the lack of surface water resources, groundwater is the most essential prerequisite for increasing crop production, as well as for the sustainable agricultural development. In many areas of the world, irrigation is critical to food security and groundwater use has increased to become a major source for irrigation water, especially in China and South Asia [2,3]. A large quantity of groundwater is being pumped each year, mainly for irrigation, and domestic and industrial uses, through different water lifting devices. Availability of groundwater for irrigation has contributed to a manifold increase in crop productivity in Bangladesh.

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