9.4 Groundwater
Groundwater constitutes a major and widely used
resource in the state. However, its distribution is
very uneven because of varied hydrogeological
characteristics. Central Groundwater Board,
Government of India (2013) has divided this
state into 12 Principal Aquifer Systems and 25
major aquifers based on hydrogeological characteristics. The replenishable groundwater
potential is associated with unconsolidated formations, while semi-consolidated and consolidated geological formations have very limited
potential. The unconsolidated rocks and soils are
very limited in the Chambal valley in the north
and the Narmada valley in the south which form
excellent aquifers but constitute only 14.4% of
total geographical area. The northern, eastern and
southern parts are covered by hard rocks. These
hard rock areas show wide variations and complexities in nature and composition of rocks,
geological structures, geomorphological set up
and hydrological conditions. The crystalline
rocks of Archaean age like granite, gneiss,
granulites, schist, quartzite and granitoids occupy
about 14.7% of geographical area of the State. In
these areas, groundwater occurs in upper
weathered mantle and fractured zones underlying
them. The consolidated sedimentary rocks of
Vindhyan and Cuddapah Super Groups occupy
about 19.1% of total geographical area and the
semi consolidated Gondwana formation occupies
about 6.7%. Gondawana formations are granular
where tube wells are capable of yielding 100–
500 cum/day for drawdown of 6–10 m. The
basaltic rocks of Deccan lava flows are the predominant formations and occupy nearly 44.5%
of western part of the state, separable into
vesicular and massive units. The vesicular units,
at various depths below ground, are moderately
productive with wells capable of yielding 250–
750 cu.m/day for drawdown of 3–6 meters.
As per 2011 reassessments made jointly by
the Water Resource Department of the State and
Central Groundwater Board (2015, pp 29–30),
total recharge from rainfall in the state is 29.01
BCM (29, 00,686 ham), whereas from other
sources is 6.03 BCM. Thus, total recharge from
all sources is 35.04 BCM (Table 9.2). The
bUn©j
50
0
150
Kilometres
080
100
120
140
160
180
Fig. 9.1 .
9 Water Resources of Madhya Pradesh: Contemporary …
111
Groundwater constitutes a major and widely used
resource in the state. However, its distribution is
very uneven because of varied hydrogeological
characteristics. Central Groundwater Board,
Government of India (2013) has divided this
state into 12 Principal Aquifer Systems and 25
major aquifers based on hydrogeological characteristics. The replenishable groundwater
potential is associated with unconsolidated formations, while semi-consolidated and consolidated geological formations have very limited
potential. The unconsolidated rocks and soils are
very limited in the Chambal valley in the north
and the Narmada valley in the south which form
excellent aquifers but constitute only 14.4% of
total geographical area. The northern, eastern and
southern parts are covered by hard rocks. These
hard rock areas show wide variations and complexities in nature and composition of rocks,
geological structures, geomorphological set up
and hydrological conditions. The crystalline
rocks of Archaean age like granite, gneiss,
granulites, schist, quartzite and granitoids occupy
about 14.7% of geographical area of the State. In
these areas, groundwater occurs in upper
weathered mantle and fractured zones underlying
them. The consolidated sedimentary rocks of
Vindhyan and Cuddapah Super Groups occupy
about 19.1% of total geographical area and the
semi consolidated Gondwana formation occupies
about 6.7%. Gondawana formations are granular
where tube wells are capable of yielding 100–
500 cum/day for drawdown of 6–10 m. The
basaltic rocks of Deccan lava flows are the predominant formations and occupy nearly 44.5%
of western part of the state, separable into
vesicular and massive units. The vesicular units,
at various depths below ground, are moderately
productive with wells capable of yielding 250–
750 cu.m/day for drawdown of 3–6 meters.
As per 2011 reassessments made jointly by
the Water Resource Department of the State and
Central Groundwater Board (2015, pp 29–30),
total recharge from rainfall in the state is 29.01
BCM (29, 00,686 ham), whereas from other
sources is 6.03 BCM. Thus, total recharge from
all sources is 35.04 BCM (Table 9.2). The
bUn©j
50
0
150
Kilometres
080
100
120
140
160
180
Fig. 9.1 .
9 Water Resources of Madhya Pradesh: Contemporary …
111