Assessmemt of groundwater potential for irrigation in the Teesta Barrage Project, Bangladesh | |
| Author | Wahid, Shahriar Md. |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.WM-02-13 |
| Subject(s) | Groundwater--Bangladesh Irrigation--Bangladesh |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Rapid expansion of groundwater use for dry season irrigation in the Teesta Barrage Project area, in the northwest Bangladesh, has questioned the agricultural sustainability of the region as a whole. A comprehensive assessment of available groundwater resources and development of a practical option for its long-term use in agriculture is most desirable. Therefore, hydrogeological and groundwater abstraction data, for the 1993-2000 period, have been used in this study to develop a data-conservative method for quantification of natural groundwater recharge culminating into an empirical relationship between rainfall and groundwater recharge. The estimated recharge of an average-rainfall-year, 682 mm/year, has been compared against the results, 691mrn/year, obtained from MIKE-SHE model. Estimated recharge has been compared with future demand of the resource to assess 'groundwater utilization potential' in irrigated agriculture in the study area. The analysis shows that, farmers' continued inclination towards cultivating HYV Boro rice during the dry season might not be sustainable in larger part of the study area and farmers might risk drying out their wells if they practice currently preferred mode of abstraction - the shallow tube well. Therefore, it is only obvious that any probable increase of HYV Boro acreage in the future, for increased food production, may only add to the misery of the poor farmer unless a proactive and adaptive groundwater utilization option, coupled with technological innovation, is practiced. To contribute towards an appropriate groundwater utilization option, a number of resources use scenarios have been analyzed taking Thana (sub-district) as the smallest management unit. These estimations indicate that promotion of economically attractive pumping technology as 'Deep-set shallow tube well' might offer additional 40mm of groundwater use potential over the study area in a year. However, the potential varies considerably from Thana to Thana with a minimum of 0 mm to a maximum of 248mm in a year. Therefore, a structured approach, based on zoning groundwater use potential, has been presented. Actual management practices can then follow the priorities set by groundwater resources status of these zones. |
| Year | 2003 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Water Engineering and Management (WM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Babel, Mukand S. ;Clemente, Roberto S. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Gupta, Ashim Das ;Zoebisch, Michael ;Mainuddin, Mohammed |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Danish International Development Agency |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2003 |