Groundwater Management in Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab

A study has been carried out to plan groundwater management strategy in the Sirhind Canal Tract of Punjab. The groundwater potential of the tract was estimated by computing various components of the groundwater recharge and water balance equation. The average annual groundwater potential has been estimated as 61187 ha-m. The recharge from rainfall, canal network and return flow from irrigated areas was computed as 23.83, 12.11, and 64.06 percent respectively. Groundwater simulation study was carried out for the tract. The digital model ‘PLASM’ developed by Prickett and Lonnquist (1971) was used for the study. Groundwater management strategy was considered as shifting the cropping pattern in such a way so as to reduce the area under crops having higher water requirements; thus helping to reduce the irrigation demand. The major crops of the tract in the kharif season are paddy, cotton, maize and groundnut. Since paddy is a crop having higher water requirement, different percentages of the area under paddy was shifted to cotton, maize and groundnut in the ratio 3:1:1. The results indicated that after the shift in cropping pattern, the area falling under deep water table diminishes. The area under the depth range of 10–15 metre diminished from 48.38 percent to 47.42, 46.43, 44.11 and 41.62 percent when paddy was shifted by 5,10,20 and 30 percent respectively. Thus the shifting of cropping pattern would result in arresting the falling water table conditions in the Sirhind Canal Tract.