DECADAL GROUNDWATER LEVEL CHANGES IN PRATAPGARH DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN RAJASTHAN, INDIAVinay Kumar Gautam, Mahesh Kothari, P.K. Singh, S.R. Bhakar and K.K. YadavAbstract The higher dependency on the groundwater has increased extremely over time due to over-utilization of the aquifers. Thus, it is urgent to assess the degree of exploitation and analyze the groundwater level trend in the area of interest. This study has been taken to examine the pre and post -monsoon groundwater level fluctuations using statistical methods for 76 observation wells in Pratapgarh district of Rajasthan for the last 11 years (2009-2019). Results revealed that the groundwater level has fallen general to significantly in maximum number of blocks during 2009-2019. It was found that the resulting groundwater levels are linearly affected by the amount of rainfall occurred. The groundwater level fluctuations data considerably interprets the groundwater recharge. The average annual decline in groundwater level was detected with strong decline (0.204 m/yr) during post-monsoon season at Chhoti Sadriblock. The average rate of rise and decline during pre and post monsoon groundwater level for the Pratapgarh district was 0.110 m/yr and 0.081m/yr, respectively. In spite of being a predominantly hard rock area, the district shows limited variation in depth to groundwater level. The alterations in water level in different seasons may be attributed to the recharge by rainfall in post-monsoon season. |