Changes in groundwater-surface water interactions following two centuries of irrigation practices and groundwater use in the Upper Ganges-Yamuna interfluve, North India
- 1Utrecht University (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Abstract
The Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) is a global hotspot for groundwater overexploitation. Previous studies have shown that groundwater levels initially rose due to enhanced recharge following the construction of irrigation canals, but subsequently declined as agricultural, municipal, and industrial abstractions intensified. However, the relative impacts of separate recharge and abstraction components (precipitation, canal leakage infiltration, irrigation return flow, and irrigation, municipal and industrial abstraction), remain unclear, as do the effects on groundwater-surface water interactions and environmental flows. This study therefore aims to quantify spatio-temporal changes in groundwater recharge and abstraction components over the past two centuries and assesses how these changes have impacted groundwater–surface water interactions in the Upper Ganges–Yamuna interfluve in northern India. Groundwater model simulations indicate that canal water infiltration following canal construction after 1830 increased groundwater recharge and groundwater discharge to local rivers. Although canals continue to provide significant recharge, rapid rise in groundwater abstraction since the 1970s has lowered groundwater tables and reduced groundwater discharge to surface waters. Currently irrigation accounts for roughly 85 % of the abstractions, with municipal (15 %) and industrial (< 1 %) uses accounting for much smaller shares. The model simulations indicate that around 2000 local rivers likely shifted from draining to infiltrating conditions. This change in groundwater–surface water exchange may affect environmental flows and increase the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination where surface waters are polluted. Although both the Yamuna and the Ganges show reduced groundwater exfiltration, they are not (yet) infiltrating.
Versions
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BibTeX
@article{broekhoven2026changes,
title = {{Changes in groundwater-surface water interactions following two centuries of irrigation practices and groundwater use in the Upper Ganges-Yamuna interfluve, North India}},
author = {Frank J. G. van Broekhoven and Stefan C. Dekker and Jasper Griffioen and Anjali Bhagwat and Paul P. Schot},
journal = {Hydrology and Earth System Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.5194/hess-30-6315-2026},
url = {https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/30/6315/2026/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Changes in groundwater-surface water interactions following two centuries of irrigation practices and groundwater use in the Upper Ganges-Yamuna interfluve, North India
AU - Frank J. G. van Broekhoven
AU - Stefan C. Dekker
AU - Jasper Griffioen
AU - Anjali Bhagwat
AU - Paul P. Schot
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
DO - 10.5194/hess-30-6315-2026
UR - https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/30/6315/2026/
AB - The Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) is a global hotspot for groundwater overexploitation. Previous studies have shown that groundwater levels initially rose due to enhanced recharge following the construction of irrigation canals, but subsequently declined as agricultural, municipal, and industrial abstractions intensified. However, the relative impacts of separate recharge and abstraction components (precipitation, canal leakage infiltration, irrigation return flow, and irrigation, municipal and industrial abstraction), remain unclear, as do the effects on groundwater-surface water interactions and environmental flows. This study therefore aims to quantify spatio-temporal changes in groundwater recharge and abstraction components over the past two centuries and assesses how these changes have impacted groundwater–surface water interactions in the Upper Ganges–Yamuna interfluve in northern India. Groundwater model simulations indicate that canal water infiltration following canal construction after 1830 increased groundwater recharge and groundwater discharge to local rivers. Although canals continue to provide significant recharge, rapid rise in groundwater abstraction since the 1970s has lowered groundwater tables and reduced groundwater discharge to surface waters. Currently irrigation accounts for roughly 85 % of the abstractions, with municipal (15 %) and industrial (< 1 %) uses accounting for much smaller shares. The model simulations indicate that around 2000 local rivers likely shifted from draining to infiltrating conditions. This change in groundwater–surface water exchange may affect environmental flows and increase the vulnerability of groundwater to contamination where surface waters are polluted. Although both the Yamuna and the Ganges show reduced groundwater exfiltration, they are not (yet) infiltrating.
SN - 1607-7938
ER -