In April of 2017 Exlterra, in cooperation with SMART EcoPark, installed a one of a kind GEPS groundwater recharge field at the park in Maharashtra, India. A year later, you would never know by looking at it, with the entire area covered with rows of vegetables used to teach children about planting and caring for crops. But as monsoon season begins, the field takes on the task of infiltrating water and saving India’s dwindling aquifers.

Starting as soon as rain begins to fall, water can penetrate through to soil layers that were previously unreachable. Moving both vertically and horizontally, the water can fill nearby wells and move even deeper where it is able to replenish quickly depleting aquifers. Because of this, the risk of surface contamination or evaporating during times of extreme heat is significantly reduced. The immediate benefit being a reduction in flood waters that cause catastrophic damage, and in the long term, the installation site experiences moisture retention even during long periods of drought. As for our site at the SMART EcoPark we found that even up to the start of this year’s monsoon, there is still moisture retained in the soil.

An GEPS installation is designed to address a specific objective in balance with the location.  At SMART EcoPark, we have developed a new design to address the Indian rainfall and geological situation, with the purpose of infiltrating water quickly, and in large quantities. We are proud to say that these results were evident immediately after the completion of the monsoon. In previous years it would take nearly two months for the field to become viable after the rains had stopped. This year it only took two weeks for the field to become workable for new crops, and the benefits of it continue to grow even now.

With these results, we can design large-scale infiltration fields that can be installed quickly, efficiently and economically. Further, the land used can be repurposed for growing crops immediately after installation without hindering the effectiveness of the infiltration field. GEPS is the engine of change to replenish India’s groundwater – one drop after another.