IGW Division



GOUTAM CHANDRA MRIDHA
Director (in-charge)
Irrigation, Groundwater & Wetland Management Division

Ground Water Management (GWM)

Groundwater is the largest accessible freshwater reservoir on earth. The increasing number of regional water shortages and water crises can only be met with a rational and sustainable use of this resource. IWM has achieved a leading position in the field of groundwater management through executing studies in home and abroad utilizing mathematical modeling techniques. Use of groundwater resources requires striking a balance between water supply demands and the needs of the environment. The problems faced in the groundwater management are often linked to the surface water regime. In such cases IWM has adopted a holistic approach of examining also the groundwater interaction with the surface water. Hereby change of landuse, climate and environmental constraints are evaluated; effects on minimum discharges in rivers and tributaries due to groundwater withdrawal are also examined. IWM provides services related to GWM in the following areas:

  • Assessment of potential and usable groundwater resources
  • Groundwater exploitation/resources
  • Groundwater vulnerability mapping and protection
  • Prediction of future Groundwater level for different scenarios
  • Dewatering design and impact analysis
  • Ground water management
  • Groundwater quality
  • Salt Intrusion
  • Climate change impact assessment

Irrigation Management (IrriM)

Irrigation management requires advanced approaches in estimation of demand of irrigation water and analysis of water allocation strategies at field scale, for entire irrigation schemes or in a basin wise perspective. IWM has gathered a sound knowledge for developing Interactive Information System (IIS) or Management Information System (MIS) and Decision Support System (DSS) for improved operation of irrigation system and command area development. IWM works for the following services:

  • An analysis of the overall effect of irrigation schemes on the water balance
  • Optimization of irrigation schemes, reduction of conveyance and seepage losses
  • Canal and structure analysis
  • Analysis and optimization of structure operations
  • Water shortage and irrigation management
  • Irrigation, drainage and water logging
  • Zoning map suitable for different mode of irrigation equipments
  • Pesticides and nutrients in drainwater and groundwater recharge
  • Effects of irrigation management on crop yields

Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

IWM has achieved a leading position within the field of integrated management of land and water resources, and provides comprehensive expertise together with a range of decision support tools to understand and simulate a variety of hydrological aspects ranging from broad-scale river basin issues to detailed hydrological and hydrodynamic investigations.  Projects often require integration of various aspects, such as conjunctive use of ground water and surface water, water quantity and quality, water uses, industrial water management and integration of the natural systems into human (political and institutional) systems, solving issues of demand and supply. Using mathematical modeling, IWM supports water, river and floodplain managers worldwide in structuring complex decision-making processes and provide technical know-how for effective evaluation of planning alternatives. Information management systems, decision support systems and simulation models are important tools in this respect. Services include:

  • Water resources assessment and management
  • Water supply and demand assessment
  • River Basin management
  • Environmental impact analysis
  • Agro-soco and economic analysis

Water Quality Investigation (WQI)

Investigation of water quality for different important parameters is essential for the conservation of environment including drinking, irrigation, fisheries and recreation. During recent days IWM has acquired sufficient skill in monitoring and mapping the following water quality parameter under different projects.

  • Arsenic
  • Salinity
  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
  • Nitrate (NO3)
  • Iodine
  • pH
  • Electrical Conductivity (EC)
  • Total Dissolved Solid (TDS)
  • Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
  • Iron (Fe)
  • Redox Potential (Eh)
  • Sodium (Na)
  • Potassium (K)
  • Calcium (Ca)
  • Chloride (Cl)
  • Magnesium (Mg)