Depletion of Water Table: Reasons, Diagram, Notes

Do you know why the Earth is referred to as the Blue Planet? What does Depletion of Water Table mean? This is because water covers roughly \(71\% \) of the Earth’s surface. The oceans hold approximately \(96.5\) per cent of all salty water on the planet. Freshwater makes up only \(3\% \) of the water on the surface, with \(69\) per cent residing in glaciers, \(30\) per cent underground, and less than \(1\% \) in lakes, rivers, and swamps.

Water can also be found in water vapour in the air, soil moisture in the earth, and aquifers. Learn more about underground water and how its depletion is a major source of concern for the developing world. Continue reading to know more.

What is a Water Table?

The Water table, also called the groundwater table, is the upper level of an underground surface where the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water. Wells, tube-wells are dug to draw water from this water table. The water table fluctuates with the seasons and by the amount of precipitation that seeps into the ground.

The water table is the primary source of usable, fresh water in the world. In parts of the world where surface freshwater is not available, domestic, agricultural and industrial water needs are met by using the water underground.

What is Water Table Depletion?

Humans and animals need water to survive and to maintain the proper functionality of their bodies. We need water to assist us in growing crops, powering equipment, and keeping us comfortable. All these water needs are satisfied by a major source of freshwater, i.e. groundwater or the water table. Its frequent and rampant use has led to an alarming state where the water table level goes deeper and deeper creating a serious issue of groundwater shortage.

While we are aware that groundwater scarcity is a severe problem, we also need to know how water naturally enters the aquifers from which we take it. To provide us with groundwater, nature goes through a unique procedure. The Sun heats the visible surface water, which evaporates and enters the atmosphere as vapours.

The water vapour then creates precipitation and falls back from the sky as rain and snow. Once water falls onto the ground, it is absorbed into the Earth and stored as groundwater in aquifers.

Learn Sources of Water Here

Causes of Water Table Depletion

The various causes of water table depletion are explained below:

1. Increased Frequency of Pumping Water From the Ground

Water Table depletion is caused when we pump water more rapidly than it can renew itself. With a booming population, the more frequently we pump water from the ground, the more difficult it is for the groundwater to recharge itself and provide us with the amount of water we need.

2. Decreased Recharging Time

Water flows slowly andly through the saturated rocks known as aquifers. There are large and small aquifers that act as underground water reserves. The amount of water that aquifers hold can provide us with billions of gallons of water per day. However, before these aquifers get recharged, they are drawn out. Hence, it doesn’t have the ability to quickly recollect enough water to be continuously sourced for our use.

3. Increased Agricultural Needs

With the population increasing at an alarming rate, it’s frightening to know that there isn’t much groundwater left to support our water needs and personal lifestyles. The higher the number of mouths to be fed, the higher is the agricultural demand. With agricultural demands shooting up, the need for groundwater for agricultural practices also goes up. Aquifers unable to recharge themselves leads to a steady decline in the availability of groundwater.

4. Irregular Monsoon Patterns

The water table primarily depends on rainfall. The rainwater seeps into the ground and recharges the aquifers. Poor monsoon trends have further aggravated the water table depletion situation. Insufficient rainfall forces farmers to dig deeper for groundwater and pushes the tables deeper down.

5. Deforestation

To satisfy the needs of industrialisation and urbanisation, trees are cut to clear forest covers. Trees help in bringing about rain. With decreased forest areas, evapotranspiration is less and hence less rainfall occurs. As there is less rainfall, water does not seep into the ground, and the aquifers are not recharged. The water table goes down deeper, resulting in a shortage of groundwater.

Effects of Water table Depletion

The effects of the water table depletion are explained below:

1. Water Table Depletion Will Force Us to Pump Water From Deeper Within the Earth

The more we extract groundwater, the deeper we need to dig below the Earth’s surface. As we go deeper down the Earth’s surface, less water is available. This leads to the water table being completely dried out.

2. Wildlife and Vegetation Is Hampered

A groundwater shortage keeps additional water from flowing into lakes, rivers and seas. This means that less water will seep into the ground over time as surface water continues to evaporate. As the water seeps less and the table goes deeper, everything in that region is affected, including fish and wildlife.

3. Saltwater Contamination Can Occur

Groundwater deep within the ground often intermingles with salt water that is not good for human consumption. When freshwater mixes with saltwater, it is called saltwater contamination. This contamination will lead to an increased drinking water supply prices as it will cost higher to pump and filter contaminated water.

4. With the Depletion of the Water Table, Food Supply and People Will Also Suffer

Without a water table, it will be challenging to provide drinking water and water for crops and livestock. The less water available, the less food we have to feed each mouth and a situation of high demand and less supply would arise.

5. Depleted Aquifers

Depleted aquifers result in deadly sinkholes, and a lack of groundwater inhibits biodiversity. Aquifers are incredibly significant because they gather groundwater. As the water table drops, sinkholes form, destroying buildings and residences, wildlife, marine species, and agriculture suffer.

Solutions to Water Table Depletion

1. Judicious water consumption. Considering the impending water shortage crisis, we as individuals can do our part to consume less water whenever possible. Throughout countless neighbourhoods, water pipes are kept running to wash cars and for other miscellaneous reasons. We can conserve water by reducing our usage of washing machines, dishwashers and similar appliances.

2. Reduced use of chemicals and their proper disposal. It is equally important that we maintain water health both above and below the surface of the Earth. The private water residences, industries that run into the streets and sewage systems are commonly laden with chemicals. These chemicals find their way into larger bodies of water and absorb into the ground, poisoning animals and the soil. Using fewer chemicals and discarding them carefully keeps them from adding toxic materials into our water supply.

3. Use of advanced irrigation techniques. Farmers should be encouraged to adopt micro-irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation and micro-sprinklers. The government has initiated schemes like the DRIP programme, more drops per crop, Krishi Sinchai Yojana to ensure economic water use practices in agriculture.

4. More comprehensive research and public, private collaboration. The best way to deal with water table depletion is to find a solution on personal and government levels. Stringent laws should be devised to regulate the pumping of groundwater.

Comprehensive research should be undertaken to find alternative sources of water. These can help replenish aquifers. Using water from other sources would also give aquifers time to refill instead of pumping too much water from them at once.

Summary

No single measure will solve India’s water dilemma, whether it be community-based, legislative, traditional water gathering systems, or relying on market forces. Integrating conservation and development operations – from water extraction to water management – is an efficient method to address the freshwater challenge.

To overcome this problem, communities must be made aware of it and completely involved. All of this will pave the path for merging environmental protection with meeting people’s basic needs in the future.

FAQs

We have provided some frequently asked questions on Water Table Depletion here:

Q.1. What is meant by depletion of the water table?
Ans: If we draw more water from the ground than the amount of water seeping into the ground, the water table gets depleted. This means we need to dig deeper to access a proper amount of water.

Q.2. How does deforestation lead to depletion of the water table?
Ans: Trees release water vapour into the atmosphere and help in bringing about rain. Fewer trees mean less evapotranspiration, less rainfall and less seepage of water into the soil. Less seepage will not recharge aquifers, and hence there is a disruption in the water table levels.

Q.3. How does the planting of trees prevent depletion of the water table?
Ans: Trees release water vapour into the atmosphere and help in bringing about rain. Planting trees means more evapotranspiration, more rainfall and more seepage of water into the soil. The increased rate of seepage will recharge aquifers, and hence the water table level is maintained.

Q.4. What are the effects of water table depletion?
Ans: The effects of water table depletion are drying up of wells, reducing water in streams and lakes, deterioration of water quality, increased pumping costs and land subsidence.

Q.5. How does the water table get depleted?
Ans: The two main causes of the depletion of the Water Table are deforestation and overpumping of groundwater.

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We hope this detailed article on the depletion of the water table is helpful to you. If you have any queries on this page or in general about water table depletion, ping us through the comment box below, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.