CSEC

Do you know?

Globally, water scarcity already affects four out of every 10 people (www.who.int).

By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world population could be under water stress conditions. (UNESCO, 2012)

With the existing climate change scenario, by 2030, water scarcity in some arid and semi-arid places will displace between 24 million and 700 million people. (UNCCD)

90% of all natural disasters are water-related. (UNISDR)

Since 1900, more than 11 million people have died as a consequence of drought and more than 2 billion have been affected by drought, more than any other physical hazard. (FAO)

By 2050, rising populations in floodprone lands, climate change, deforestation, loss of wetlands and rising sea levels are expected to increase the number of people vulnerable to flood disaster to 2 billion. (UNESCO, 2012)

Overall, annual economic losses from weather-related disasters are estimated at between US$ 250 billion and US$ 300 billion. (UNISDR)

Asia is the region most vulnerable to water-related disasters, accounting for more than 45% of fatalities and more than 90% of the people affected by disasters between 1980 and 2006. (UNESCO, 2009)

Globally, 80% of wastewater flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused (UNESCO, 2017).

By 2050, close to 70% of the world’s population will live in cities, compared to 50% today. Currently, most cities do not have inadequate infrastructure and resources to address wastewater management in an efficient and sustainable way. (UNDESA, 2014)

1.8 billion people use a source of drinking water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. (WHO/UNICEF 2015)

Agriculture accounts for 70% of global water withdrawal. (FAO)

Roughly 75% of all industrial water withdrawals are used for energy production. (UNESCO, 2014)

Global water demand (in terms of water withdrawals) is projected to increase by 55% by 2050, mainly because of growing demands from manufacturing (400% increase). More than 40% of the global population is projected to be living in areas of severe water stress by 2050. (UNESCO, 2014)

It typically takes 3,000 – 5,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of rice, 2,000 litres for 1kg of soya, 900 litres for 1kg of wheat and 500 litres for 1kg of potatoes. (WWF)

20% of the world’s aquifers being over-exploited, some critically so. Deterioration of wetlands worldwide is reducing the capacity of ecosystems to purify water. (UNESCO, 2014)

Today 71% of the global population (5.2 billion people) use a safely managed drinking water service; that is, one located on premises, available when needed and free from contamination. 1 out of 3 of these people (1.9 billion people) live in rural areas. (WHO/UNICEF 2017)

263 million people spent over 30 minutes per round trip to collect water from an improved source. (WHO/UNICEF 2017)

Globally, two out of five people in rural areas use piped water supplies. (WHO/UNICEF, 2017)

70% of the Earth is covered in water out of which 2% of the planet’s water is fresh but 1.6 % of it is locked in polar ice caps and glaciers.

India has 4% of world water

More people in rural India have access to phones than to safe drinking water. It is estimated that only 18 percent of the total rural population of 833 million have access to treated water. In comparison, 41 percent of the rural population, or 346 million people, own mobile phones.(Forbes India, 2015)

Access to safe water varies greatly from state to state: 36 percent of the rural population in Andhra Pradesh has access to treated water while, in Bihar, less than 2 percent of the rural population receives treated water. (Forbes India, 2015)

India ranks a dismal 120 out of 122 nations for its water quality and 133rd out of 180 nations for its water availability. (Forbes India, 2015)

Ganga is the second most polluting river in the world.

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

Each year around 1.2 billion pounds of plastic are dumped into River Ganga (BBC, 2018)

Water scarcity due to climate change could cost some region up to 6%of their GDP resulting in migration and conflicts.(World Bank 2018)

India Water Facts

Water Resources of India

Surface Water

India is a water rich country with 4% of world’s water resources(India-WRIS wiki 2015). The rivers have been the heart and soul of the India’s growth as well as culture. Among them, 12 rivers are classified as major river which are catering about 253 mha of catchment area and 46 as medium river with 24.6 mha of catchment area. Many of the river systems with their tributaries are perennial and some of them are seasonal. The Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna system is the largest river system in India with 43% of the catchment area of the all major river systems. The other major river systems are Indus, Sabarmati, Mahi, Narmada, Tapi, Brahmani, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Pennar and Cauvery. Apart from that, there are several other medium rivers systems of which Subernarekha (with 1.9 mha catchment area) is the largest (Dhawan 2017, Central Water Commission 2015).

Other than rivers and canals, other inland water resources include numerous reservoirs, tanks and ponds, beels, oxbow lakes, derelict water and brackish water, which cover almost 7 mha of area. They are unevenly distributed over the country with Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka and West Bengal possessing more than 50% of these inland water resources.

Table 1 Surface water resources potential of river basins of India (Central Water Commission 2010)

Sl. No.	River Basin	Catchment area (sq.km)	Avg. Water Resources Potential (BCM)	Utilizable surface water resources (BCM)
1	Indus (up to border)	321289	73.31	46
2	a) Ganga	861452	525.02	250
	b) Brahmaputra	194413	537.24	24
	c) Barak & Others	41723	48.36
3	Godavari	312812	110.54	76.3
4	Krishna	268948	78.12	58
5	Cauvery	81155	21.36	19
6	Subarnarekha	29196	12.37	6.8
7	Brahamani & Baitarni	51822	28.48	18.3
8	Mahanadi	141589	66.88	50
9	Pennar	55213	6.32	6.9
10	Mahi	34842	11.02	3.1
11	Sabarmati	21674	3.81	1.9
12	Narmada	98796	45.64	34.5
13	Tapi	65145	14.88	14.5
14	West flowing rivers From Tapi to Tadri	55940	87.41	11.9
15	West flowing rivers from Tardi to Kanyakumari	56177	113.53	24.3
16	East flowing rivers between Mahanadi & Pennar	86643	22.52	13.1
17	East flowing rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari	100139	16.46	16.5
18	West flowing rivers of Kutch and Saurastra including Luni/td>	321851	15.1	15
19	Area of inland drainage of Rajasthan	36202	0	NA
20	Minor river basins draining in to Myanmar & Bangladesh		31	NA
	Total		1869.35	690.1

Monsoon precipitation has been the lifeline of India with respect to agriculture as well as recharging its water resources. India receives about 4000 bcm of average annual precipitation along with snowfall, of which 3000 bcm is received in the monsoon season (June-September). The spatial distribution of precipitation widely varies over the country (<100 mm in Rajasthann to >2500mm in Assam)(Central Ground Water Board 2014). Less than 50% of total precipitation flows to the rivers and it is estimated as 1869 bcm. However, only 690 bcm surface water resources can actually be utilised(Central Water Commission 2015).

Ground Water

Ground water is a replenishable resource. The agriculture, industrial and domestic sectors majorly depend on ground water. Annual utilizable ground water resources in India is assessed as 433 bcm. The main source of ground water is the recharge from monsoon precipitation. About 58% of countries annual rechargable ground water is contributed by monsoon rainfall. Other sources of recharge viz. seepage from canals, tanks, ponds and other water structures and irrigation account for about 32%. Among the states of India Uttar Pradesh has highest net annual ground water availability (~ 72 bcm) while Delhi has the least (0.29 bcm)(Central Ground Water Board 2014).

Figure 1 Precipitation scenario in India (2000-2014) (Government of India 2018)

Figure 2 Depth to water level in (1) pre-monsoon and (2) post-monsoon season in India (Central Ground Water Board 2014)

Supply - Demand - Projections

India is one of the most populous countries in the world, which supports about 17.1% (> 1.3 billion) of world’s population and about 500 millions of livestock population that accounts for 20% of world’s livestock population(Gangwar 2013). In last three decades remarkable economic growth is observed in India. Booming economics, population growth and rapid urbanization have considerable impact on India’s water demand. Changes in the food consumption, lifestyle and landuse pattern also play a major role in water requirement. Although India receives plenty of water as rainfall during monsoon, due to lackof storage only a small percentage of that water is actually added to the reserve. In a country like India where there is significant mismatch of spatial distribution of available water with the population, the situation becomes alarming; ironically less water is available where more people live. While, as per the international norms, countries with per-capita water availability less than 1700 m3 per year is categorized as water stressed, with per capita available water of 1545 m3 India is definitely water stressed country (India-WRIS wiki 2015, Census, 2011). Studies shows that the projected per capita water availability will become 1401 m3 and 1191 m3 by 2025 and 2050 respectively and eventually India is likely to become a water scarce country (India-WRIS wiki 2015, Gangwar 2013).

India's total annual utilizable water resources is 1123 bcm (690 bcm surface water + 433bcm ground water). Being an agrarian country, 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%)(Press Information Bureau 2013). Ground water is an important source for irrigation as well as for domestic and industrial usage. It 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. India has abundant ground water reserve which gets replenished every year mostly by monsoon precipitation. However, in some states viz. Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh over exploitation of ground water has led to water scarcity. States like Rajasthan and Gujarat arid climate leads to water stressed condition, while in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh poor aquifer properties are responsible for water scarcity. With increasing population pressures, industrial growth and unprecedented pace of urbanization the ground water is extracted from lower and lower level with much faster rate than rainfall can even replenish.

On account of rapid economic and demographic change, the water demands in all the sectors are increasing. According to the projections by 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). Similarly other sectors are very likely to have increased water demand (table 2). While a considerable amount of water requirement is met by ground water, a long term analysis of water recharge in both pre-monsoon and post- monsoon seasons shows lowering of water table due to limited recharge (Sakthivadivel 2007). If this trend continues, India is going to face huge water deficit in future, especially in the irrigation sector. While per capita available water is projected to decrease or remain same, per capita water use is projected to increase from 99 l/d (2009) to 167 l/d (2050). Average domestic water demand would also increase from 85 litters per capita per day (lpcd) in 2000 to 125 lpcd and 170 lpcd by 2025 and 2050 respectively. Total industrial water demand is also supposed to increase to 92bcm and 161 bcm by 2025 and 2050 respectively(MInistry of Statistics and Programme Implementation 2011).

Table 2 Sector wise projected water demand in India (Press Information Bureau 2013)

Sector	Water demand in bcm
Sector	2010		2025		2050
	High	Low	High	Low	High	Low
Irrigation	543	557	561	611	628	807
Drinking Water	42	43	55	62	90	111
Industry	37	37	67	67	81	81
Energy	18	19	31	33	63	70
Other	54	54	70	70	111	111
Total	694	710	784	843	973	1180

How safe is our water?

Rise in demand and development pressure changing the characteristics of water in India. The ground water is more depleted and less available and surface water is getting more and more polluted and unsuitable for human use. Good water quality is essential for human health as well as the ecosystem. However, to ensure sufficient healthy water to everyone is a big challenge now. About 70% of surface water resource in India are polluted. The major contributing factor for water pollution are wastewater from different sources, intensive agriculture, industrial production, infrastructure development, untreated urban runoff and wastewater. According to WHO half of India’s morbidity is water related (Murty and Kumar 2011). 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 contributes a substantial proportion of water pollution in India. More than 70% of domestic untreated effluents are disposed off to environmental media. Water quality data from CPCB shows that organic and bacterial contamination are becoming increasingly critical in water bodies leading to gradual degradation of water quality. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) for most of the rivers of India are increasing and exceeding the standards (Bhardwaj 2005).

Arsenic and fluoride contamination in ground water is another challenge that India has to combat. Parts of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal are suffering from contamination of arsenic in ground water above permissible limit, while Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are known to have fluoride contaminationalong with (Central Ground Water Board 2010).

Figure 3 Number of habitations affected by water quality problems in rural India (Khurana and Sen 2008)

Climate Change and its implications on water

Changes in temperature and precipitation due to global warming and related processes have serious impacts on hydrologic processes and regional water resources of India. Climate affects the supply and demand of water as well as its quality, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. IPCC AR5 reports that mean annual temperature is increasing all over Asia and it is projected to increase >20C till the end of 21st century (BAU scenario)(Hijioka 2014). Rising temperature contributes to glacial melts resulting in glacier retreat and affecting the water availability in Himalayan rivers, thus threatening the water supplies on which hundreds of millions of people depend. Almost 67% of the glaciers in the Himalayan mountain ranges has retreated in the past decade due to warming effects. Any shortfall in supply of water will have multi fold impact on social, environmental and economic well being affected areas. As water availability is becoming less predictable, drought situations in some parts of India are more likely in future. Water scarcity not only has immediate effect on agricultural productivity but also has a long term impact on socio-economics of the affected area. IPCC projects an increase in both the mean and extreme precipitation in the Indian summer monsoon. The frequency of heavy precipitation events is also increasing, while light rain events are decreasing.Increase in precipitation intensity within a short period leads to flood events and eventually pollute water points. More floods and droughts are predicted in future due to climate change. Extreme rainfall events are very likely in three major river basins viz. Krishna, Godavari and Ganga by 2100. It has been predicted that the dry season will become drier and wet wetter. The situation will become worse when precipitation decreases in the major food producing regions of India. Uneven distribution of precipitation also affects ground water recharge and eventually available water from this source. Most of the rivers in south peninsular India viz. Cauvery, Narmada and Mahanadi are fed through groundwater recharge and is also supplemented by the monsoon rains. Long term projection shows that increase in monsoon precipitation will increases the possibility of floods in September and water scarcity in summer in these rivers.

Most of Asia's non-Arctic coastal ecosystems are under severe pressure from non-climate impacts that climate impacts are hard to detect. In India while most of the land mass is facing water scarcity, the coastal regions are vulnerable to sea level rise, storms and cyclones, salt water intrusion and coastal flooding due to climate change. Average global sea levels are projected to rise at a rate of 2 to 3 mm per year over the coming 100 years. In India even a small amount of rise in sea level will have considerable impact because of high population density.

Figure 4 Frequency of natural disasters globally between 1970 and 2014 (Source: EM-DAT)

Water Disasters: Trends

Increasing frequency of natural disasters are observed around the world (Figure 4). India is also highly vulnerable to water related disasters such as floods, droughts and cyclones. More than 12% of India’s geographical area is flood prone(Ministry of Home Affairs 2015). Floods are recurrent phenomena and cause huge losses of life and property. Marginalized suffers the most. It is a cause for concern that flood related damages show an increasing trend. It is observed that while during 1965-75 the number of flood events was lower than 20, it has increased to 100 during 2005-2015. India has faced 649 disasters from 1915 to 2015 out of which 302 were caused by flood with an average of 3 floods per year. This accounted approximately 47% of total disasters took place in India in last 100 years. The average annual flood damage in during the period of 1996 to 2005 was Rs. 4745 crore as compared to Rs. 1805 crore, the corresponding average for the previous 53 years. If we look at top ten disasters in the last ten years we find that flood alone had killed nearly 84% of the total person killed by the top ten disasters(Tripathi 2015).

Table 3 Flood and related damaged in India during 1915-2015 (Tripathi 2015)

Sub-type of flood disaster	Events count	Total deaths	Total affected	Total damage ('000 US$)
Riverine flood	143	29810	333442962	41404929
Flash flood	23	7436	23443526	416200
Coastal flood	4	569	11500000	275000
Other	132	33611	462703212	11898059

On an average, 28% of the geographical area of India is vulnerable to drought(Samra 2004). Temporal studies has shown no trend in number or frequency of drought event in India. In depth studies indicates that the drought occurrences in east Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam and Meghalaya are most alarming. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, east Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, west Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh are also in alarming stage with respect to drought events as many districts in these states reported increasing trends in drought occurrences (Gupta, Tyagi and Sehgal 2011). Probability of drought occurrences in India, based on 115 years of data, varies between 10 - 26 % with central and peninsular India having the higher probabilities. Trend analysis on the time series of area under drought condition shows that seven meteorological subdivisions viz. Uttarakhand, east Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Assam & Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura and Kerala having a significant increasing trend in the area under drought condition(Guhathakurta 2017).

Tropical cyclones are very common in the coastal regions of India. The coastline of India expands about 7516 kms and exposed to nearly 10% of the world’s tropical cyclones. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is a trigger to tropical cyclones for their genesis and intensification. Global warming heats both sea surface and deep water, thus creates ideal conditions for a cyclone to survive and thrive in its long journey. SST increasing is so fast and is high in the equatorial Indian Ocean compared tothe other oceans. It has increased 0.6°C over the North Indian Ocean. Recent increase in severity of tropical cyclones in Bay of Bengal region is because of the increase in SST since 1960, the largest warming among the tropical oceans. The increasing trend in the cyclone frequency over the Bay of Bengal for the last 122 years during May has been + 0.36. Keeping in view the average frequency of one cyclone every three years in May, this trend is highly significant (Mishra 2014).

Figure 5 Persons affected by natural disasters in India during 1970 to 2014 (in millions) (Source (EM-DAT)