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The Times of India
Title : India uses up more groundwater than US & China
Author : Subodh Varma
Locatio
Article Date : 05/23/2017
Indiscriminate Withdrawal Of Groundwater Means India May Run Out Of Its Supply Of Usable Water
In A Few Years
Right on the edge of the Ganga basin that spans 11 Indian states lies Naujhil block, a few kilometres west of
‘Yamuna in UP’s Mathura district. You would think this is a blessed location with plentiful water all round, With
its 17 tributaries, including the Yamuna, Ganga's catchment area has about 525 billion cubic metres (bem) of
surface water and about 171 bem of groundwater. On average, it receives a million cubic metres of rainfall on
every square kilometre. But Naujhil block is a declared “dark zone", that is, its groundwater extraction far
exceeds the recharging rate and use of electricity for pumping water is not permitted. Because of heavy
withdrawal, the groundwater is very saline now.
Subhash Nauwar, a farmer from Managarhi village in the area, says, “About 35-40 years ago, there was no
problem. This is the khadar (floodplain) of the Yamuna and its water would recharge the groundwater sources.
But people wanted more crops, so a bund was built to prevent flooding. Now there is no water."
It's bizarre, Most residents of Managarhi use bottled water for drinking and cooking, as if they were living in a
desert and not in one of the world’s most water-rich plains,
This water scarcity is spreading across India, smothering idyllic villages and high-rise city habitats in equal
measure. No Indian city supplies 24x7 drinkable water to all of its residents, In many cities, including Bengaluru
and Chennai, water scarcity has reached crisis levels and in pampered Delhi, every summer brings intense water
scarcity for the disadvantaged sections. Meanwhile, in rural India, zooming agricultural production over the
years has mostly been fuelled by heavy use of groundwater because not enough investment was made for using
surface and rainwater through canals and reservoirs.
Now, take a look at India's water equation: after accounting for losses due to evaporation and unusable water
like brackish water or swamp water, the total usable water available in the country is 1,123 bem, while the total
water consumption in 2006 was 829 bem, projected to rise to 1,093 bem by 2020. So, in just a few years, India
will reach its limit of water consumption because water supply cannot be increased. It isa definite, finite
resource,
Increase in population has, of course, contributed to the situation reaching these dire straits, but a closer look
will reveal gross mismanagement and neglect by governments, coupled with an unbridled destruction of
resources as if there is no tomorrow.
‘Take rainwater for instance, Just 18% of rainwater is used effectively while 48% enters the river systems, most
of which just flows into the ocean, according to Narayan Hegde, a water expert with the BAIF Research
Development Foundation.
“Farm ponds, percolation tanks, water reservoirs and small and medium-sized dams can help retain more sur
face water while increasing the groundwater recharge,” he told TOI.
This would ease some of the pressure off groundwater usage that has pushed 29% of the country's blocks into
the “over-exploited category , that is, where groundwater withdrawal is more than the possible recharge. This,
indiscriminate withdrawal, as in Nayjhil, has led India to showing an annual groundwater usage that is more
than the combined usage by the US and China. Studies by Nasa using satellite imagery show that the Indus
basin, which includes the high food producing states of Punjab and Haryana, is one of the most stressed aquifers
in the world, If the current trends continue, by 2030 nearly 60% of Indian aquifers will be in a critical
condition, This means that some 25% of the agricultural production will be at risk -a devastating scenario,
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India’s cities are teetering on the brink of an unimaginable water crisis because of unplanned growth and low
priority to provision of safe drinking water. Loss due to leaks in the supply systems and wasteful consumption.
practices pose a serious and untackled problem. Cities also symbolise the injustice of water distribution with
well-heeled localities getting as much as 6-8 times more water than the poorer localities.
Here, too, rainwater harvesting can play an important role in supplementing municipal supplies and taking the
load off precious groundwater resources. Take the example of Delhi. It receives a mindboggling 690 billion litres
of rainfall every year. Harvesting even 25% of this would yield 172 billion litres. With an average demand of
about 5 billion litres per day , this could just be sufficient to tide over a hot, waterless summer month.
A mix of traditional and modem technologies needs to be urgently put in place to tackle India's impending water
crisis, argues Hegde. This includes watershed development programmes, increasing the efficiency of irrigation
by replacing the prevalent flood irrigation with drip or sprinkler systems and creation of desalination plants to
convert seawater into drinkable sweet water.
Usable water available in india
is 1,123 bem, while the total
water consumption in 2006
was 829 bem, projected to rise
to 1,093 bem by 2020. In a few
years, India will reach its limit
of water consumption
45282017
MAKE INDIA
WATER
POSITIVE
A TIMES OF INDIA INITIATIVE
of India addresses wastage and
mismanagement of water. This
series will also look at
successful examples of
‘communities, industries or
groups taking steps to conserve
or replenish water sources. We
hope this will inspire others to
replicate these models
[FOR ADROP TO DRINK: Water woes affict
all from Coimbatore (pi) to Delhi
a45282017
INDIA’S WATER MATHS...
Barely 2.5% of the water on earth is fit for use. Of this, groundwater ts fast depleting
and other freshwater sources are also threatened. A look at where the water is
INDIA’S WATER DEMAND
Lost in evaporation ete =
=
h Ay 4
~1047 cn @ ros ff 88 0
a9 ff IMT
reat Non-avalable water ‘Yo
water 08. +*Demard declines as popslatien starts
rewouces \ Lof |+-]084 bem coed sae eon ee
inmoIA
this PER CAPITA WATER USE
4000)\ i
Available water RA water
\ Billon cubic
~_Meties
Litres per cay:
vie BES
+1869 vem mmaaal 1123
bem
- Agriculture India europe | woid | India consumes most of its
aeE Stee 2 e: usable water for agriculture
iw Industry f purposes, while households
get only 5% of it
EM oomestic
‘Source: GO, IW, UN
-AND ioe GLOBAL PICTURE
Only 2.5% of earth’s water La epiabllapsltie
is fit for consumption
oceans 96.5% wo
Pap 225" 0.9%
tens
Le NOP ae
Cea ae See
2 26% 0.49%E)3* % 0.26%
Swamps, marshes arta) aera ya ae NiCr
Source: Uses
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