DEPLETION OF WATER TABLE
Water drawn from under the ground gets restored by seepage of rainwater. The water table does not get affected as long as we draw as much water as is replenished by natural processes. However, water table may go down if the water is not sufficiently replenished. This may happen due to many reasons. Increase in population, industrial and agricultural activities are some common factors affecting water table. Scanty rainfall is another factor that may deplete the water table. Yet another factor affecting water table could be deforestation and decrease in the effective area for seepage of water.
Increasing population
Increasing population creates demand for construction of houses, shops, offices, roads and pavements. This decreases the open areas like parks, and playgrounds. This, in turn, decreases the seepage of rainwater into the ground. What could be the consequence? Recall that a pukka floor does not allow water to seep in easily, while in a grass lawn water seeps through in no time.
Moreover a huge amount of water is required for construction work. Often groundwater is used for this purpose.
So, on the one hand we are consuming more groundwater, and on the other we are allowing lesser water to seep into the ground. This results in depletion of water table. In fact, the water table in some parts of many cities has gone down to alarmingly low levels
Increasing industries
Water is used by all the industries. Almost everything that we use needs water somewhere in its production process. The number of industries is increasing continuously. Water used by most of the industries is drawn from the ground.
Activity 16.4
Name some industries familiar to you. Make a list of the products obtained from these and used in our daily life. Discuss with your teacher and parents how the growing industrial activity is responsible for the depletion of water table.
Agricultural activities
A majority of farmers in India depend upon rains for irrigating their crops. Irrigation systems such as canals are there only in a few places. Even these systems may suffer from lack of water due to erratic rainfall. Therefore, farmers have to use groundwater for irrigation. Population pressure on agriculture forces increasing use of groundwater day by day. This results in depletion of water table.