Influence assessment of urban expansion on groundwater level fluctuations in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India.

Being the state capital of Gujarat, Gandhinagar is snowballing urban population, resulting in overexploitation of groundwater resources and consequent decline in local groundwater level. The key objective of the current research is to understand the impact of urban expansion on the groundwater level of Gandhinagar district for the last 3 decades. Long-term land use/land cover (LULC) alterations using Landsat images (1991-2021) reveal a 234% increase in overall built-up area and it is more prominent in western and southern parts than the eastern part of study area till 2021 due to urban sprawl of adjacent Ahmedabad City. Spatial distribution of groundwater levels exhibits the same pattern of groundwater level drop as that of the urban expansion and the drop of maximum depth of the groundwater level has also observed during study tenure. Rapid population growth indicates inevitable urban densification which may lead to increase in groundwater abstraction and consequent groundwater level depletion of Gandhinagar City in near future. The scenario may be worsened due to the reduction in groundwater recharge area owing to enhancement of impervious surfaces. A negative correlation is established between groundwater level and respective built-up areas from 1991 to 2011. After 2001, groundwater levels in some areas showed a rising trend and the number of those locations have increased from 2001 to 2021, indicating a sufficient supply of surface water, meeting the escalating water demand and subsequent reduction in groundwater abstraction. High fluoride content was found in many groundwater samples collected from Gandhinagar's shallow unconfined aquifer. In lieu of almost unperturbed natural groundwater recharge, built-up expansion, rising population, and over-exploitation result in groundwater level depletion in both shallow and deeper aquifers. To replenish the already depleted groundwater level and for sustainable water supply, an integration of rainwater-surface water-groundwater management plan and sustainable urban management plan is highly required. The future sustainable urban-groundwater management plan of Gandhinagar City must emphasized on the expansion of green and permeable spaces for groundwater recharge, mandatory rainwater harvesting system in every building possible, suitable area demarcation for artificial recharge, and identification of areas which are less prone to groundwater level depletion for city expansion. The outcomes of the present study will help the decision-makers to prepare inclusive and resilient urban management plan to accomplish the 6th and 11th Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations by 2030.