Groundwater Investigations and Management in Indus Plain of Pakistan; Collaborative Efforts of the USGS and PCRWR

Pakistan is a strategically important country blessed with high mountain ranges covered with glaciers, the plateaus of Balochistan and Potohar, fertile Indus Plain and deserts. The high mountains are the source of water for Indus River System which transverse the great Indus Plain, recharges underlying alluvium aquifer and finally drains into the Arabian Sea after feeding the World's Largest Contiguous Irrigation System. The irrigated agriculture is dependent on surface water of Indus Basin Irrigation System and groundwater of underlying Indus Plain Aquifer which supplements about 40% of total supplies.

The Indus Plain Aquifer is a large continuous aquifer with thickness varying from a few meters to up to about two kilometers. The hydrogeology of this aquifer was studied by Pakistani and US scientists of the USGS from 1954 until 1966. At that time, more than 1650 test holes were drilled and more than 160 test wells were installed for aquifer tests to evaluate hydraulic characteristics of aquifer. Recently, the over-exploitation of the aquifer is causing groundwater depletion in my parts of the Indus Plain. Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources has increased its understanding of this aquifer through integrated geophysical survey exploratory and additional exploratory well drilling. The USGS is providing technical assistance in managing of the existing and new data by establishing a Pakistan Water Resources Data Warehouse in PCRWR and capacity building in the field of hydrologic modeling and data interpretation techniques.