The Indian Institute of Technology (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. The conference focuses on the theme of effective management of 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 Professor K K Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee and Professor SM Hassanizadeh, Hydrogeology Department, Utrecht University graced the event as the guest of honour.

In addition to technical sessions, a two-day pre-conference training on groundwater modelling was organized in collaboration with the DHI from October 31 to November 1, 2022. A group of 50 participants from different parts of the country attended the training.

Professor Brijesh K Yadav, Head Department of Hydrology, IIT Roorkee was the convener for the mega event and Professor 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.

Addressing the conference, Professor 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 and developments will provide an opportunity to a never-ending string of scientists, researchers, students, and engineers."

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 or quantification, site characterization, abstraction and monitoring; microplastics in soil-water, virus and colloidal transport, reactive transport modelling, and sea-water intrusion; remediation techniques or 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 or 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, and 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 of surface and groundwater and watershed management, sediment transport, and glacier hydrology, among others, were on the cards of eminent dignitaries alike. Apart from such enlightening discussions and intriguing topics, the event also hosted cultural activities.

Professor Brijesh K Yadav, Convener of the conference, highlighted“the paramount importance of the commonly invisible groundwater resources for our society and environment on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebration of the Department of Hydrology and the glorious 175 years completion of IIT Roorkee.”