Smartphones For Water Nepal (S4W-Nepal), Lalitpur, Nepal.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, El Paso, TX, USA.
Environ Monit Assess. 2021 Aug 5;193(9):550. doi: 10.1007/s10661-021-09265-x.
Groundwater-level monitoring provides crucial information on the nature and status of aquifers and their response to stressors like climate change, groundwater extraction, and land use changes. Therefore, the development of a spatially distributed long-term monitoring network is indispensable for sustainable groundwater resource management. Despite being one of our greatest unseen resources, groundwater systems are too often poorly understood, ineffectively managed, and unsustainably used. This study investigates the feasibility of establishing a groundwater monitoring network mobilizing citizen scientists. We established a network of 45 shallow monitoring wells in the Kathmandu Valley using existing wells. We recruited 75% of the citizen scientists through personal connections and the rest through outreach programs at academic institutes and site visits. We used various methods to encourage citizen scientists to complete regular measurements and solicited feedback from them based on their experiences. Citizen scientists were more consistent during the monsoon season (June through September) than non-monsoon seasons. The depth-to-water below the ground surface varied from - 0.11 m (negative sign represents a groundwater level higher than the ground surface) to 11.5 m, with a mean of 4.07 m and standard deviation of 2.63 m. Groundwater levels began to rise abruptly with the onset of monsoon season and the shallowest and the deepest groundwater levels were recorded in peak rainfall months and dry months respectively. Citizen science-based groundwater monitoring using existing wells would be an economic and sustainable approach for groundwater monitoring. Improved groundwater-level data will provide essential information for understanding the shallow groundwater system of the valley, which will assist concerned authorities in planning and formulating evidence-based policy on sustainable groundwater management.
地下水水位监测提供了有关含水层性质和状况及其对气候变化、地下水开采和土地利用变化等胁迫因素的响应的关键信息。因此，开发一个空间分布的长期监测网络对于可持续的地下水资源管理是必不可少的。尽管地下水系统是我们最大的未被充分认识的资源之一，但它们往往被理解得很差，管理不善，而且使用不可持续。本研究调查了利用公民科学家建立地下水监测网络的可行性。我们利用现有的井在加德满都谷地建立了一个由 45 个浅层监测井组成的网络。我们通过个人联系招募了 75%的公民科学家，其余的则通过学术机构的外展计划和实地考察招募。我们使用了各种方法来鼓励公民科学家定期完成测量，并根据他们的经验征求他们的反馈。公民科学家在雨季（6 月至 9 月）比非雨季更有规律。地下水面到地面的深度从-0.11 米（负号表示地下水位高于地面）到 11.5 米不等，平均值为 4.07 米，标准偏差为 2.63 米。随着季风季节的开始，地下水位突然上升，在降雨量最多的月份和最干旱的月份分别记录到了最浅和最深的地下水位。利用现有水井进行基于公民科学的地下水监测将是一种经济且可持续的地下水监测方法。地下水水位数据的改善将为了解谷地浅层地下水系统提供重要信息，这将有助于有关当局在规划和制定可持续地下水管理方面的循证政策。
