Water storage in the aquifer: Solution to the risk of underground water shortages

The Yangon City Development Committee is undertaking storage and maintenance water in the aquifer during the rainy season in order to have no shortage of underground water. The underground water is the water collected from above ground in the aquifer by passing through the ground layers by layers and it is used for agriculture, industry, city development tasks and household uses. 

If the underground water is extracted a lot, the vacant and hollow places can happen in the artesian wells and the risks of landslides and lowing ground layers can be faced, according to the official of YCDC.

Dr Zaw Win, Member, Yangon City Development Committee said "If we extract the amount of water than that flowing into the sand and ground layers, the holes and caves can happen as well as landslides. So, it is good to use only the part of groundwater that fills it. If we use the amount more than the storage, we have seen that the big cities have sunk into the ground because the ground layers are low."

There are about 570 artesian wells that are used for the supply of water by YCDC. The YCDC is implementing the way to store underground water by flow of the water from aboveground into the wells during the rainy season, the official of YCDC added.

Dr Zaw Win, Member, Yangon City Development Committee said "During the rainy season, natural rainwater and water from aboveground fall into the wells that connect with sand layers. We reuse old wells. It is quite successful in India. If the water storage systems can be conducted gradually during the rainy season, the wells will also be full of water. We research this because it will be beneficial for the country and the people if this water is used again suitably."

To supply sufficient drinking water, as the water resource, the YCDC uses underground water ‌as much as possible. The amount of groundwater extraction and consumption is increasing year by year because the weather is getting hotter and hotter.