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New
water formations saline: Experts
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
The
excitement of fresh water sources coming to light in the arid Rann
of Kutch is fast fading. Analysis of water samples by the Gujarat
Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB), Central Ground Water Board
(CGWB) and Gujarat Water Resources Development Corporation (GWRDC)
is showing that all that came to the surface following the January
26 quake were saline formations.
Satellite
imagery taken on January 27 of the eastern part of Rann of Kutch
had shown the presence of a 100-km water channel that did not exist
earlier. Numerous other brooks had also sprung up in various parts
of Kutch. "All of them are saline. There is no question of
sweet water anywhere,'' GWSSB chairman R K Tripathi said. "It
is premature to conclude that fresh water has been found in Kutch
after the quake,'' he added.
According
to the CGWB, the Rann had "saline aquifers'' since a long time.
"The saline channels, which were subsurface at a depth of 100
to 200 metres, were thrown up during the quake and are now settling
down again,'' CGWB geologists said on Friday. "The channels
and water bodies that appeared in satellite imagery disappeared
almost 15 days after the quake. It is possible that the energy produced
during the quake was almost like energy released during a volcanic
eruption, which threw water to the surface,'' Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) sources said.
Vijay
Aiyachit of the GWRDC said most of the new water sources found in
Kutch were saline. "We have surveyed 77 spots and taken samples
from Banni and Khavda, but except for an odd case of fresh water
accumulating in a pond, all are saline,'' he said.
Scientists
from ISRO, geologists and geo-hydrologists of CGWB, GWSSB and various
other agencies are now trying to ascertain if fossilised saline
water had come to the surface after thousands of years. ISRO scientist
Dr Naval Gunde told Indian Express Express that all maps and satellite
images had been given to the agencies to find out more about the
water.
"Radioactive
carbon dating is being done on the samples, which will determine
the age of the water,'' the GWSSB chairman said. "Tests will
also be conducted in Hyderabad and it will take almost two months
to know whether these are recent water bodies or fossilised ones,''
ISRO officials said.
These
agencies will conduct a second survey in a fortnight once the water
settles to determine its quality again. Meanwhile, the Gujarat Tubewell
Corporation is conducting surveys and analysis of water samples
where ever groundwater tables have come up in Kutch.
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