Managing Shallow Aquifers in Urban Areas: Pune Workshop Report 2024

In 2022, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 initiated a pilot project on Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM) across ten select cities — Jaipur, Dhanbad, Gwalior, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Rajkot, Pune, Thane, and Bengaluru. The pilot aims to sensitise city officials to the potential of recharge wells and structures as practical interventions for shallow aquifer recharge, while simultaneously addressing the compounding urban challenges of groundwater depletion, urban flooding, and contamination of shallow groundwater reserves. Central to the initiative is the revitalisation of traditional water management structures, including dug wells and urban water bodies, and the mainstreaming of shallow aquifer management into city-level water strategies — in alignment with AMRUT's broader vision of sustained urban water security.

This Report documents the proceedings and outcomes of a national training workshop convened as part of the pilot, bringing together a diverse cross-section of urban water management stakeholders for cross-learning and knowledge exchange. Organised as a collaborative effort by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), ACWADAM (Pune), and BIOME Environment Solutions (Bangalore), the workshop drew participation from more than 49 representatives across 19 AMRUT cities from 13 states. Attendees included senior decision-makers such as Municipal Commissioners, Deputy Municipal Commissioners, Chief Engineers, and Executive Engineers from the SAM pilot cities, alongside sector experts from organisations including the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), ACWADAM, and BIOME.

The workshop served as a critical platform for sharing field insights, fostering inter-city dialogue, and advancing a collective understanding of shallow aquifer management as an essential component of resilient and water-secure urban futures.