IIT Roorkee inaugurates the 9th International Groundwater Conference-2022 on subsurface water management
Roorkee :Department of Hydrology,Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee(IIT Roorkee)inaugurates the 9th International Groundwater Conference-2022 (IGWC-2022). The mega event is being hosted by IIT Roorkee from November 2 to November 4, 2022, at MAC Auditorium, IIT Roorkee. The IGWC-2022 focuses on the theme ofEffective management of (sub) – surface water resources in arid and semi-arid regions. The inauguration witnessed a grand participation of more than 300 delegates coming from 12 countries. The opening of the international conference was chaired by Prof K. K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee and Prof. S. M. Hassanizadeh, Hydrogeology Department, Utrecht University graced the event as the Guesthonour.
Prof. Brijesh K. Yadav, Head Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee was the convener for the mega event and Prof. C. Mayilswami, President of the Association of Global Groundwater Scientists (AGGS) welcomed all the dignitaries and shared a collective vision for instilling human resources for Sustainable Growth of Groundwater and its allied areas through knowledge sharing, logical thinking, and qualitative and quantitative analysis. Apart from AGGS, institutions like NABARD, SERB, DHI, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Roorkee Industries contributed to the Conference.
Following the inauguration ceremony, the Conference was divided into 23 parallel technical sessions chaired by faculty members of IIT Roorkee and representatives of various institutions. The plenary speakers, session chairpersons and keynote speakers shared their expert knowledge across a wide range of groundwater areas covering water resources assessment/quantification, site characterization, abstraction and monitoring; Micro plastics in soil-water, virus and colloidal transport, reactive transport modelling, and sea-water intrusion; Remediation techniques/measures for polluted sites and desalination practices; Applied groundwater flow and solute transport modelling for management of groundwater resources; Heterogeneity in porous media, flow in fractured hard rocks, dual porosity/permeability modelling, Geo-statistical techniques; Climate change and (sub)-surface hydrology, land-atmosphere interactions, extreme events, forecasting and trend analysis. Other topics included Soil-water pollution, sources, vulnerability, environmental impacts and isotope hydrology; Plant-soil-atmospheric continuum, water use efficiency, water footprint assessment and resilient agriculture, optimal cropping patterns. The detailed list of activities also included GIS and RS applications in hydrological and hydrogeological studies, water harvesting, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and conjunctive use/interactions of surface & groundwater and watershed management, sediment transport,and glacier hydrology, among others, were on the cards of eminent dignitaries alike. In addition to technical sessions, a two-day pre-conference training on groundwater modeling was organized during 31stOct – 1stNov 2022 in collaboration with the DHI. A group of 50 participants from different parts of the country attended the training.
Apart from such enlightening discussions and intriguing topics, the event hosted cultural activities, like popular folk dances of Kumaon region like Bagwal, Ghasiyari, Chapeli; Kaalbelia of Rajasthan region and Bihu of Assam region along with a variety of melodious folk songs, in the MAC Auditorium, coordinated by Prof Himanshu Joshi followed by conference dinner.
Addressing the Conference, Prof. K. K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, highlighted,”Such brain-storming session on water resources in arid and semi-arid regions with in-depth analysis is unparallel to a general technical session on subsurface water and aquifer management. Exchanging these ideas on the latest research & developments will provide an opportunity to a never-ending string of scientists, researchers, students, and engineers.”
Adding to the conference, Prof. S. M. Hassanizadeh, Hydrogeology Department, Utrecht University, said, “Participating in such a mega conference with close to 300 delegates and researchers is surely to reflect the zeal with which institutions are trying to spread the urgent need for Groundwater conservation and management.”
Prof. Brijesh K. Yadav, Convener of the conference,highlighted“the paramount importance the commonly invisible groundwater resourcesfor our society and environment on the occasion of goldenjubileecelebrationof the Department of Hydrology and glorious 175 years completion of IIT Roorkee.”