Abstract
Groundwater stored in the aquifers provides water security during natural hazards, e.g. clean water access during floods and droughts. Groundwater drought, a phenomenon closely linked with rainfall (climate) variability, is less researched, especially in India. This study aims to detect precipitation and groundwater droughts and comprehend the groundwater response to long-term precipitation trends (25 years). As a case study, the drought-affected and groundwater-depleted Purulia district in West Bengal, India, which is a part of the Chotanagpur plateau, was selected. Precipitation and groundwater droughts (in aquifer types of shallow, moderate and deep) are detected using the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) and Groundwater Resilience Index (GRI). During the 25 year study period (1996–2020), Purulia had 13 (52%) rainfall deficiency years, with an annual average rainfall of 1382 mm. SPI detected four severe droughts and the most severe occurring in 2010–2011 (1.50). GRI found that aquifermedium had a 71% \(P(Near Normal)\) conditions and are the most resilient and aquiferdeep experienced maximum extreme drought events and is the most stressed. The cross-correlation coefficients (CCCs) between rainfall and groundwater is moderate in deep, shallow, and medium aquifers, with CCCs − 0.43, − 0.59, and − 0.49, respectively. Positive CCCs are found for seasonal lags of − 3, − 4, and − 7. The study found that during the monsoon, average depth to groundwater level is 1 – 4 m and it drops to 8 – 10 m during the lean period, more than 85% of wells are vulnerable to extreme droughts (SPI > 1.5), aquifer’s response to rainfall is aquifershallow > aquifermoderate > aquiferdeep, and aquifer’s may be arranged as aquifermoderate > aquifershallow > aquiferdeep depending on their drought resistance. This study, with the use of statistical tools and long term data, will aid in the management of groundwater at varying depths by creating basis for understanding the groundwater response to rainfall events.
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Data availability
The dataset used in the study are available upon request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Rural Data Research and Analysis (RuDRA) Laboratory of Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IITB) for providing the infrastructure to conduct this research. We also acknowledge Central Ground Water Board, New Delhi, for making the depth to groundwater level data available for the study.
Funding
Partial funding for the PI’s time was supported by the Programmatic Cooperation between the Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and IHE Delft in the period 2016–2023, also called DUPC2 (DUPC2), and by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — Institute for Water Education (IHE Delft) (2019/089/108483/EWH (GRACERS project)).
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Sarkar, M., Chinnasamy, P. Assessing the impact of precipitation on hardrock aquifer system using standard precipitation index and groundwater resilience index: a case study of Purulia, West Bengal, India. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 112548–112563 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30158-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30158-8