International Statistics for Groundwater Level Measurements

Question: Discuss about the International Statistics for Groundwater Level Measurements. Answer: Abstract The purpose of this report statement is to indicate the issues on groundwater in India and the U.S. as well as contrasting aspects of groundwater in India and the United States. We have used several calculations and detailed explanation as our methodology to support our argument and we are glad to announce that we have been able to produce a result of our work. Here, several numerical calculations are included to indicate scientific measures put in place to study the water content and availability in the quoted regions. The topic on groundwater management fits perfectly in this paper as issues like acidity, organic contents in the water, and the softness of the water are explained. In addition, this paper focuses on the explanation of the usability of groundwater, how it evolved, and the scientific measures put behind it to be effective in both the two countries. In our paper work, aspects such as distribution, evaluation, contrast between the countries, and scientific research done on groundwater management greatly determine the suitability of the topic in our paper. Groundwater distribution in both the U.S. and India In the United States, the water infrastructure is considered being good as both the national and the federal governments have contributed equally towards the developments. In addition, the United States started its development long time ago when compared to India. In the United States, for example, Miami and the metropolitan area surrounding it are basically supplied by the groundwater that comes from the Biscayne Aquifer, however, high demands for the water has resulted in a change whereby Memphis was forced to get its water from the Artesian aquifers. In other states such as Houston, the consumed water comes from both the groundwater, from Chicot and Evangeline aquifers, as well as the surface water from Trinity River that flows to Lake Livingstone. In India, water supply has been difficult in meeting the demand that the Indians had. For instance, by the end of the year 2010, only two cities had a continuous supply of water that included the Kota and the Trivandrum cities only. This was an improvement from 5 years back where not any of the 35 cities in India could supply water effectively for more than 4 hours nonstop. However, as of late, more areas within the country can access water through most times of the day like, for instance, a Jharkhand city by the name Jamshedpur provides at least a third of its residents continuous water supply. In other location like Navi Mumbai, water supply is considered stable as more than half of its residents, about 1 million, can access continuous water. The capital city of Kerala, Trivandrum, that has more than 2 million residents, enjoys clean water supply without shortage. Other rural parts of the country receive their water from wells, rivers and lakes in general (Bhanja, Soumendra et al. 2016). Evolution of the groundwater management In India, there are cases that were done with respect to the groundwater evolution. A good example was the case that was done involving the factor analysis (FA) and the R-mode hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) done in Rangampeta, Chittoor District South of India. After the analysis, the ground water was found to be having many chemicals including calcium, magnesium, potassium, silicon, chlorine, and sodium among others. The electrical conductivity of the water was also tested as well as the pH levels. Four factors of the water were then found out and classified into F1 (highly loaded with chlorine, magnesium, and Sodium), F2 (highly loaded with potassium and calcium), F3 (high levels of silicon and pH), and F4 with traces of sulphuric acid. This scientific result was due to groundwater and rock interactions as well as other factors including agricultural use of chemicals. In the HC analysis, 4 clusters were recognized having cluster I (13 wells), II (8 wells), III (5 wells), and IV of 4 wells. Cluster I and II had moderate salinity, II considered fresh water due to low ion content, while cluster III had mid sanity between that of I II and that of IV. The methods used were effective in analyzing the dynamics of the water quality of the region that had no direct relations with the host rocks of the regions. Contrast between the two countries Due to the water demand in India, it consumes groundwater in terms of agriculture and domestic usage as compared to the United States. The main differences comes in where the United States uses advanced machinery like sprinklers and drip irrigation that preserve water as compared to India where the rural persons use the traditional mechanisms. The main reason for this is that earlier investment in the storage of both the surface and rain water was not done in the appropriate time when compared to that of the United States. India, as quote by the Times India, has high rates of water wastage and mismanagement when compared to the scenario in U.S. Another factor that made India utilize more water than the U.S. is that India population has been ever growing and reaching alarming rates out-competing the current available resources to sustain them. In order to cleared understand the groundwater distribution in the two countries, a research and analysis has been provided in below with detai led explanation. Research and analysis in both countries There are a number of researches that have been done both in the United States and India regarding the supply of water. In the year 2006, a research conducted by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), 28 cities in the country had an average of 3.3 hours supply of water per every single day with a range of about 18 hours per day from 1 hour every 3 days. In the year 2007, another research was done by the Asian Development Bank in 20 diverse cities resulted in the conclusion that the average supply of water stood at 4.3 hours per day with no continuous water supply in either city. On the other hand, in the United States, a research by the USGS water-use reports, several states had a record of the water supplied for both local and industrial use. For instance, the California States percentage of the total water withdrawn stood at 16%, that of Arkansas at 10%, Texas at 10%, Nebraska at 10%, and Idaho at 5%. Impacts of the groundwater on the environment The groundwater development in any given country has several impacts on the environment including the following. First of all, the water being drawn from the ground decreases the flow of water in the springs and river-based flows as well as wetland surface area. This is because the water is being utilized somewhere else apart from the naturally meant use for it. In addition, the quantity of water level in the water bodies reduces as the water is continuously being withdrawn. In addition, the sea water encroaches in the coastal aquifers due to the continuous utilization as well as the infiltration of the surface water. However, the worst effect is that the water quantity reduces as the water being pumped mixes, for instance, the water from the wells mixes with that from the surface thus reducing the water quality and softness (Custodio 2000). Impacts of the groundwater on the economy The groundwater has several impacts on the economy including the following. To start with, the pumping of the water increases the average cost of water as the costs of fuel, technical support, and machinery used must be added up in order to come up with the final cost that has recovered the cost used. In addition, the jobs that come up in the extraction and transmission of the groundwater to the final area of utilization emerges job opportunities to various people who have the capabilities to do such jobs. This fact reduces the unemployment levels in countries such as India. Finally, groundwater impacts the economy positively by enabling other businesses to run such as the factories and companies that majorly rely on the water for their operations (India Vs United States Environment Stats Compared 2017). Work cited Bhanja, Soumendra N., et al. "Validation of GRACE-based groundwater storage anomaly using in-situ groundwater level measurements in India."Journal of Hydrology543 (2016): 729 -738. Custodio, Emilio. "Effects of groundwater development on the environment."guas Subterrneas(2000). India Vs United States Environment Stats Compared.International Statistics: Compare Countries on Just About Anything! NationMaster.com,2017, www.nationmaster.com/country-info/compare/India/United-States/Environment.