Surface water resources

There are four major sources of surface water. These are rivers, lakes, ponds, and tanks. In the country,
there are about 10,360 rivers and their tributaries longer than 1.6 km each. The mean annual flow in all
the river basins in India is estimated to be 1,869 cubic km.

However, due to topographical, hydrological and other constraints, only about 690 cubic km (32 per
cent) of the available surface water can be utilised. Water flow in a river depends on size of its
catchment area or river basin and rainfall within its catchment area.

There are three major types of surface water. Permanent (perennial) surface waters are present year
round, and includes lakes, rivers and wetlands (marshes and swamps). Semi-permanent (ephemeral)
surface water refers to bodies of water that are only present at certain times of the year including
seasonally dry channels such as creeks, lagoons and waterholes. Man-made surface water is water that
can be continued by infrastructures that humans have assembled. This would be dammed artificial
lakes, canals and artificial ponds (e.g. garden ponds) or swamps.

The surface water held by dams can be used for renewable energy in the form of hydropower.
Hydropower is the forcing of surface water sourced from rivers and streams to produce energy

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Ground water resource

Groundwater is the largest source of freshwater for mankind. Isotope techniques are used to determine
the origin and replenishment rates of groundwater, obtained through the use of stable and
radioisotopes naturally present in groundwater. Groundwater constitutes 30 per cent of the world's
available freshwater.

The total replenishable groundwater resources in the country are about 432 cubic km. Table 6. 1 shows
that the Ganga and the Brahamaputra basins, have about 46 per cent of the total replenishable
groundwater resource s. The leve1 of groundwater utilisation is relatively high in the river basins lying in
north-western region and parts of south India.

The groundwater utilisation is very high in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu.
However, there are States like Chhattisgarh, Odisha. Kerala, etc., which utilise only a small proportion of
their groundwater potentials. States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Tripura and Maharashtra are
utilising their ground water resources at a moderate rate.

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Frozen water resources
Frozen water includes glaciers water ,ice caps.glacier ice is the largest source of fresh water on
earth ,holding with ice sheets about 69% of the fresh water

It is old water ,sometime formed more than 1700 year ago . typically it has an extremely low mineral
content and is similar in taste and other qualities to rainwater, in warmer summer tempreature glariers
mealt and create water source which are important for human use.

Frozen water is found on the Earth's surface primarily as snow cover, freshwater ice in lakes and rivers,
sea ice, glaciers, ice sheets, and frozen ground and permafrost (permanently frozen ground).

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Rain water harvesing

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off.
Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or
borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir with percolation, so that it seeps down and restores the ground water.
Dew and fog can also be collected with nets or other tools. Rainwater harvesting differs from
stormwater harvesting as the runoff is collected from roofs, rather than creeks, drains, roads, or any
other land surfaces. 10  Its uses include watering gardens, livestock, irrigation, domestic use with proper
treatment, and domestic heating. The harvested water can also be committed to longer-term storage or
groundwater recharge.

Rainwater harvesting is one of the simplest and oldest methods of self-supply of water for households,
and residential and household-scale projects, usually financed by the user. However, larger systems for
schools, hospitals, and other facilities can run up costs only able to be financed by owners,
organizations, and governmental units.

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Desalination

Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally,
desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance,as in soil desalination,
which is an issue for agriculture. Saltwater (especially sea water) is desalinated to produce water
suitable for human consumption or irrigation. The by-product of the desalination process is
brine.Desalination is used on many seagoing ships and submarines. Most of the modern interest in
desalination is focused on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with recycled
wastewater, it is one of the few rainfall-independent water resources.

Due to its energy consumption, desalinating sea water is generally more costly than fresh water from
surface water or groundwater, water recycling and water conservation. However, these alternatives are
not always available and depletion of reserves is a critical problem worldwide. Desalination processes
are usually driven by either thermal (in the case of distillation) or mechanical (e.g. in the case of reverse
osmosis) energy types.

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Water usage in india

Irrigation by far is the largest user of India’s water reserve with hooping usage of 78% of total water
reserve, followed by domestic sector (6%) and industrial sector (5%)(PIB 2013).

National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development (NCIWRD) the irrigation sector alone
is going to need additional 71 bcm by 2025 and 250 bcm of water by 2050 compared to the demands of
2010 (Press Information Bureau 2013).

Ground Water is also a major source of drinking water in urban and rural India. 45% of total irrigation
and 80% of domestic water come from ground water reserve.

States like DL, PN, HR, UP over exploitation of ground water has led to water scarcity. States like RJ, GJ
arid climate leads to water stressed condition, while in TN, KA, AP poor aquifer properties are
responsible for water scarcity. Other reasons being increasing population pressures, industrial growth
and unprecedented pace of urbanization.

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How safe is our water?

About 70% of surface water resources in India are polluted.

The major contributing factor for water pollution are wastewater from different sources, intensive
agriculture, industrial production, infrastructure development and untreated urban runoff .

Everyday 2.9 billion liters of waste water from industrial and domestic sources are dumped into the river
Ganga without treatment.

According to WHO, Half of India’s morbidity is water related.

Waste management has not been as efficient as required to manage increasing volume of waste
generated daily in India, especially in cities. Municipal wastewater treatment capacity developed so far
in India accounts for only 29% waste generated in urban habitations having population more than
50,000 and the gap is projected to increase.

Domestic effluents contribute a substantial proportion of water pollution in India. More than 70% of
domestic untreated effluents are disposed-off to environment.

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Report released by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)

54% of rural woman in India had to travel between 200 metres and 5 kilometres daily to fetch drinking
water in 2012.

They walked 20 minutes a day, on an average, and spend another 15 minutes at the source of water

Every second woman has to spend 210 hours in a year for fetching water which means a loss of 27 days’
wages for these households. Collectively, these women cover 64,000 times the distance between the
earth and the moon.

Water crisis is imminent in villages because of over harvesting of ground-water resources. About 80% of
the country’s drinking water needs are met by groundwater.

75% of the women in states like CJ, MN, OD, JH have to travel long distances for drinking water.

India records world’s highest per capita water-borne diseases even more than some of the least
developed nations.

In most of the large cities about one-third of water never reaches the consumer because of leaks and
poor maintenance. According to Centre for Science and Environment, over 35% of water in Delhi and
about 30% in Mumbai is lost because of leakage.

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Water supply and sanitation

Water supply and sanitation in India continue to be inadequate, despite long-standing efforts by the
various levels of government and communities at improving coverage. The level of investment in water
and sanitation, albeit low by international standards, has increased during the 2000s. Access has also
increased significantly. For example, in 1980 rural sanitation coverage was estimated at 1% and reached
21% in 2008. Also, the share of Indians with access to improved sources of water has increased
significantly from 72% in 1990 to 88% in 2008. At the same time, local government institutions in charge
of operating and maintaining the infrastructure are seen as weak and lack the financial resources to
carry out their functions. In addition, no major city in India is known to have a continuous water supply
and an estimated 72% of Indians still lack access to improved sanitation facilities.

In spite of adequate average rainfall in India, there is large area under the less water conditions/drought
prone. There are lot of places, where the quality of groundwater is not good. Another issue lies in
interstate distribution of rivers. Water supply of the 90% of India’s territory is served by inter-state
rivers. It has created growing number of conflicts across the states and to the whole country on water
sharing issues.

A number of innovative approaches to improve water supply and sanitation have been tested in India, in
particular in the early 2000s. These include demand-driven approaches in rural water supply since 1999,
community-led total sanitation, a public-private partnerships to improve the continuity of urban water
supply in Karnataka, and the use of micro-credit to women in order to improve access to water.

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Water related issues in india

Water quality issues

When sufficient salt export is not taking place from a river basin to the sea in an attempt to
harness the river water fully, it leads to river basin closer and the available water in
downstream area of the river basin becomes saline and/ or alkaline water. Land irrigated with
saline or alkaline water becomes gradually in to saline or alkali soils. The water percolation in
alkali soils is very poor leading to waterlogging problems. Proliferation of alkali soils would
compel the farmers to cultivate rice or grasses only as the soil productivity is poor with other
crops and tree plantations. Cotton is the preferred crop in saline soils compared to many other
crops as their yield is poor. In north eastern states high acidic nature of soils due to excessive
rainfall is effecting the agriculture productivity. Interlinking water surplus rivers with water
deficit rivers is needed for the long term sustainable productivity of the river basins and for
mitigating the anthropogenic influences on the rivers by allowing adequate salt export to the
sea in the form of environmental flows Also baseflows in rivers are to be restored by stopping
excessive ground water use and augmenting surface water by canals to achieve adequate salt
export to the sea and preserve the water quality.
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Water pollution

Water pollution is one of the biggest issues facing India right now. As may be evident, untreated
sewage is the biggest source of such form of pollution in India. There are other sources of
pollution such as runoff from the agricultural sector as well as unregulated units that belong to
the small-scale industry. The situation is so serious that perhaps there is no water body in India
that is not polluted to some extent or the other.
In fact, it is said that almost 80% of the waterbodies in India are highly polluted. This is
especially applicable of ones that some form or the other of human habitation in their
immediate vicinity. Ganga and Yamuna are the most polluted rivers in India.
The single biggest reason for water pollution in India is urbanization at an uncontrolled rate.
The rate of urbanization has only gone up at a fast pace in the last decade or so, but even then
it has left an indelible mark on India’s aquatic resources. 
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Ground water overdrafting

Rapid expansion of groundwater irrigation has transformed the rural economy in regions
around the world, leading to significant increases in agricultural productivity and rising incomes.
Farmer investment in wells and pumps has driven this expansion on the demand side; however,
the supply of cheap agricultural energy—usually electrical power—is a critical though often
overlooked driver of the groundwater boom. One serious outcome in numerous regions around
the world has been groundwater overdraft; where pumping exceeds aquifer recharge, water
tables have declined and water quality has deteriorated. India and Mexico are two of the
largest users of groundwater in the world and both face critical overdraft challenges. The two
countries are compared, given that electrical energy supply and pricing are primary driving
forces behind groundwater pumping for irrigation in India and Mexico alike. Both countries
have attempted regulatory measures to reduce groundwater overdraft. However, with low
energy costs and readily available connections, there are few financial disincentives for farmers
to limit pumping. The linkages between energy and irrigation are reviewed, comparing and
contrasting India and Mexico. Examples of legal, regulatory and participatory approaches to
groundwater management are assessed. Finally, the implications of linking electrical power
pricing and supply with ongoing groundwater regulation efforts in both countries are explored.

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Water scarcity
Water scarcity in India is an ongoing water crisis that affects nearly hundreds of million of
people each year. In addition to affecting the huge rural and urban population, the water
scarcity in India also extensively affects the ecosystem and agriculture. India has only 4% of the
world’s fresh water resources despite a population of over 1.3 billion people. In addition to the
disproportionate availability of freshwater, water scarcity in India also results from drying up
of rivers and their reservoirs in the summer months, right before the onset of
the monsoons throughout the country. The crisis has especially worsened in the recent years
due to climate change which results in delayed monsoons, consequently drying out reservoirs
in several regions. Other factors attributed to the shortage of water in India are a lack of
proper infrastructure and government oversight and unchecked water pollution.
The acute shortage of water for daily needs has prompted many government and non
government organisations to take stringent measures to combat the problem. The Government
of India has launched multiple schemes and programs, including the formation buck of an entire
'Jal Shakti' Ministry to deal with the problem. The government has also insisted on techniques
such as rainwater harvesting, water conservation and more
efficient irrigation. Agriculture alone is responsible for 80% of the country’s water usage.
Several large cities of India have experienced water shortages in recent years,
with Chennai being the most prominent in 2019. The shortage of water affected the entire city
of 9 million people and resulted in the closure of several hotels, restaurants and businesses.
According to a report by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), at least 21
major Indian cities, including the capital New Delhi will completely run out of groundwater by
2020. The report also noted that approximately 200,000 people die in India each year due to
the lack of access to safe drinking water.

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Climate change

Changing climate has significant impact on water — direct or indirect — leading to serious
social and economic issues in highly vulnerable countries such as India. Millions of poor are
struggling to live with low adaptive capacity, fast diminishing reliable water resources, large-
scale wetland degradation and unsustainable water management.
Water resources are fast depleting and deteriorating. Fall in surface water availability due to
changing rainfall pattern increases dependency on groundwater. Groundwater level has been
receding at an alarming rate in many parts of India, as a result of over-extraction and changing
seasonality and intensity of rainfall.
In the coastal zones, this is leading to salinity intrusion in aquifers. Water scarcity causes
conflicts over allocation and clash between people. Climate change impacts will have direct
consequences for water security with its reflection on food security. A recent study by the
International Food Policy Research Institute found that more than half the world’s population
and approximately half of global grain production will be at risk due to water stress by 2050.
Failure in agriculture due to hydrological extremes affects rural economy. In large parts of rural
India, life still depends on agriculture. Disasters like floods and prolonged droughts cause
anxiety-related responses as well as mental health disorders. Thousands of farmers in India
committed suicide in the last few decades.

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Oxygen depletion
Oxygen depletion is a phenomenon that occurs in aquatic environments as dissolved oxygen
(DO; molecular oxygen dissolved in the water) becomes reduced in concentration to a point
where it becomes detrimental to aquatic organisms living in the system.
Oxygen depletion can occur naturally, but severe cases are usually caused by organic
enrichment from human activity. Organic materials enter waterways from sources like sewage,
animal waste, and urban or agricultural runoff. Microorganisms consume oxygen as they break
down decaying organic matter.
The Indian Ocean is losing oxygen more slowly than the Pacific and Atlantic but the potential
impact on marine ecosystems is large, according to a new report from the International Union
for Conservation of Nature.
The report, which was released this past weekend, found that oxygen levels in the world’s
oceans are declining due to global warming and nutrient pollution—from fertiliser runoff—
posing a threat to marine life and fisheries.

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Water Sharing Issues

The existing Constitutional provisions and legislation in India do not provide an appropriate
framework to deal with water sharing issues between states, sectors and individuals. In the
present set up (i) primary powers are vested at state levels which do not correspond to river
basin boundaries; (ii) surface water rights are not clearly defined and such rights cannot be
commercially transferred; (iii) ground water rights are purely private, and; (iv) environmental
laws have not been comprehensively operationalised and regularly standards are either not
enforced or do not exist. The legal and absolute right to groundwater rests with the owner of
the overlying land, irrespective of the social and environmental consequences.
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