Soz for law to protect groundwater resources

Soz says there is an urgent need to augment the natural supply of groundwater through artificial recharge of resources.

The enactment of a suitable legislation could be the solution to protect fast depleting groundwater resources and ensure equitable distribution of water, Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz said in Colombo on Wednesday.

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Participating in a workshop on Rain Water Harvesting, Soz said as natural replenishment of groundwater reservoirs was slow and unable to keep pace with excessive continued exploitation of such resources in India, there was an urgent need to augment the natural supply of groundwater through artificial recharge of resources.

Roof-top rainwater harvesting could be adopted to meet domestic water requirements. It is estimated that 37 lakh roof-top rainwater harvesting structures are feasible in the country, he said.

He said people's participation and social acceptance was essential for popularising artificial recharge of groundwater.