Evaluation of Water Level Behavior in Coal-Mining Area, Adjacent Township, and District Areas of Jharkhand State, India

The present paper deals with groundwater level behavior in the coal-mining areas and also in the adjacent township areas of the Jharkhand State. Thickness of saturated zone and the water level behavior depend on spatiotemporal and hydrogeological factors such as soil type, geomorphology, geological formations, rain fall pattern and distribution, and groundwater exploitation. The groundwater regime largely follows the topographical features in the area. In the mining areas, i.e., the East Bokaro, Jharia, and West Bokaro coalfield the water level ranges from 1.64 to 11.20, 3.05 to 11.10, and 1.8 to 16.12 mbgl, respectively, during pre-monsoon period while during post-monsoon it ranges from 1.36 to 10.80, 1.4 to 7.5, and 0.3 to 10.7 mbgl, respectively. The average seasonal water table fluctuation in the area is 2.60, 0.68, and 3.2 mbgl, respectively. Whereas in the adjacent township areas, the average water level during pre-monsoon is 6.99, 6.29, and 5.21 mbgl, respectively, while during post-monsoon the value are 2.46, 6.29, and 3.40 mbgl, respectively. It has been found that mining and industrial activities in some specific locations are impacting both shallow as well as deep aquifer indicating that sustainable groundwater management is urgently needed incorporating geological complexities and aquifer depositions in the area. Artificial recharge and protection of impacted aquifers are the key components of the management plan.