GURGAON: This year’s first groundwater analysis report for Gurgaon is expected to be released on July 25, according to officials of the groundwater cell. The long-awaited document, which is being jointly compiled by the state’s groundwater wing and the agriculture department, will be delineating the decline trend and the chemical properties of the groundwater reserves found in the region.

According to the chief hydrologist, S S Sehrawat, the analysis report will highlight the rate at which the water table is declining in various urban and rural areas of Gurgaon. The data is expected to prove useful when it is time to draw up the conservation plans. “We are going to map out the rate at which the water table has declined and the areas that have been affected. Apart from that, we will be establishing the chemical quality of the groundwater and figure out the level of salinity in the reserves,” he said.

The analysis is conducted every four years in Haryana by the respective hydrology departments of the different districts, and by the beginning of next month, groundwater analysis reports of other arid districts like Faridabad and Mewat are also expected to come out.

It was reported earlier that Gurgaon’s watertable had declined by a further 1 metre in some areas this year, which is a serious concern in a city where groundwater reserves have reached a depth of over 50 metres. The delayed rains, according to the hydrologist, have made matters worse.

“The late arrival of the monsoon has obviously affected the water table. The replenishment generally begins earlier than it will this year. We have written to various departments, asking them to be prepared with their rainwater harvesting apparatus,” added Sehrawat.