The effectiveness of Artificial Recharge of groundwater: a review

Abstract

This report is the principal technical output of Phase 1 of a project commissioned by the Department for International Development to review the current state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of Augmenting Groundwater Resources by Artificial Recharge (AGRAR). The focus of this study is on applications to rural environments and communities in semi-arid developing countries. This report comprises the results of a review undertaken between April 2001 and March 2002. In addition to an extensive literature search, two visits were made to India to meet a wide range of practitioners and to visit artificial recharge schemes. The second visit in November 2001 included a seminar at which the state of knowledge of artificial recharge was discussed together with issues that need to be addressed in order to provide improved guidelines for the effective implementation and management of schemes. These issues form the basis for the proposed Phase 2 of the project in which sites will be monitored, data relating to the physical and impacts on livelihoods collected and analysed and recommendations made and disseminated. The report firstly introduces the project and the context in which it was undertaken, followed by descriptions of various artificial recharge methodologies used to meet a wide range of demands in a variety of physical settings (Chapter 2). The impacts of different physical factors on the effectiveness of schemes are then discussed (Chapter 3), followed by a discussion of the socio-economic factors and their impacts on livelihoods (Chapter 4). The overall benefits, constraints and uncertainties are drawn together in Chapter 5