The paper presents semi-analytical mathematical model to estimate unsteady groundwater recharge resulting from variable depth of water in a large water body, influenced by time variant inflows and outflows. The model has been derived by integrating Hantush’s (1967) analytical expression for water table rise due to recharge from a rectangular spreading basin into the water balance equation of the water body. The model has been applied to a test study site in Raipur (India) for assessing viability of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) from a lake located on an area dominated by the massive limestone formation. The components of the water balance equation have been carried out by the comprehensive analysis of the hydrological and hydrogeological aspects of the lake. The hydrological components include

This report aims at documenting the scientific evidence at 4 managed aquifer recharge (MAR) sites in India after 18 months duration of the EU (European Union) funded project SAPH PANI. The site investigations include compilation of previously existing data, a wide range of field experiments, surface-/groundwater and sediment sampling, data analysis, interpretation and the development of (preliminary) conceptual models. The MAR sites are realised under a wide range of geological and hydrological conditions and the covered aspects can be summarised as:…

Groundwater exploitation in India has increased rapidly over the last 50 years as reflected by the growth of the number of groundwater abstraction structures (from 3.9 million in 1951 to 18.5 million in 1990) and shallow tube wells (from 3000 in 1951 to 8.5 million in 1990) (Muralidharan, 1998; Singh & Singh, 2002).Today groundwater is the source for more than 85 % of India’s rural domestic water requirements, 50 % of urban water and more than 50 % of irrigation demand. The increase in demand in the last 50 years has led to declining water tables in many parts of the country. For example, 15% of the assessment units (Blocks/Mandals/Talukas) have groundwater extraction in excess of the net annual recharge (Central Ground Water Board, 2007). According to Rodell et al. (2009), the extent of groundwater depletion between 2002 and 2008 was 109 km3, which is about half the capacity of India’s total surface-water reservoirs.