FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

PraJal is a joint initiative by the Department of Water Resources Development and Management, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, and the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, DoWR, RD&GR, Ministry of Jal Shakti, GoI. It is a platform to provide details about various Managed Aquifer Recharge initiatives and advancements made in the field of groundwater recharge. It also provides web-based tools for site suitability of MAR sites.

PraJal is a hindi word meaning ‘Shining’. The term PraJal has come from the abbreviation of the hindi translation of ‘Managed Aquifer Recharge= प्रबंधित जलभृत पुनर्भरण’

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is a nature-inspired technique that tries to replenish aquifers with surface water for later usage or environmental advantages. One of the key advantages of MAR is that it allows for underground water storage rather than typical storage in large surface reservoirs.

APN stands for Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research. It is a 22-country intergovernmental network aiming toward an Asia-Pacific region that effectively addresses the issue of global change. The major purpose is to improve relationships between scientists and policymakers. This organisation collaborates with governments, project teams, and international partners to generate policy-relevant knowledge outputs and to foster empowered settings favourable to improving science-policy relations.

The web-based application is built on the combination of Google Earth Engine and MCDA. Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is an operations research sub-discipline that analyses multiple conflicting criteria in decision making.

There are various applications of MAR. Few important ones are listed below:  Sustainable management of groundwater resources.  Design and operational optimization of MAR schemes.  Providing suitable locations for MAR sites  Maximization of the natural storage capacity  Assessmentat of water quality changes  Predictionon of recharge potential at particular MAR location

The team members of the praJal are eminent professors and scientists of the partnering institution. The details about the team is given: http://prajal.org/team.aspx

The site primarily focuses on services for engineers/officers, water professionals, and researchers. These individuals may participate in the upcoming trainings and use the tools available on the portal.

The PraJal site contains vital information on MAR implementation and operational issues. It also offers a web-based tool for determining the viability of MAR sites. The service also includes video tutorials and lectures on groundwater, MAR, and site suitability mapping principles.