Water Resources: Utilization and Irrigation

Introduction to India’s Water Resources

India makes up around 2.45% of the world’s specific region, 4% of the world’s water resources, and about 16% of the world’s people.

India gets water from 4000 cubic kilometres of yearly precipitation and 1869 cubic kilometres of surface and groundwater resources. However, only 60% (1122 cubic kilometres) of the groundwater from these two sources is good and drinkable.

Surface Water Resources

• The four primary surface water resources in India are rivers, lakes, lagoons, and tanks. There were about 10,360 rivers and tributaries here, with each tributary being more than 1.6 kilometres long
• The total surface water resources are anticipated to be 1,869 cubic kilometres. Due to geographical, meteorological, and other limits, only roughly 690 cubic kilometres (32%) of this water can be used
• The flow of water in a river is controlled by the size of the watershed region/river system and rainfall in that area. Throughout India, stream groundwater is higher during the rainy season compared to several seasons
• The Ganges River, Brahmaputra, and Gangetic plain rivers in India have enormous watersheds. The watershed regions of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Barak tributaries fall under the high precipitation receiving area, accounting for 60% of overall water supplies and just 33% of India’s porous structure. However, the majority of the surface water resources are not used

• On the other side, in the Coromandel, rivers such as the Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, and others have a lower annual stormwater runoff. Still, most of their groundwater sources have been depleted

Groundwater Resources

• India’s abundant and renewable groundwater resources are estimated to be 432 cubic kilometres. The Ganga and Brahmaputra basins contain over 46% of abundant and renewable groundwater supplies
• In the drainage basins of India’s northeastern and southern regions, groundwater is used to a rather significant extent
• Punjab, Gurgaon, Rajasthan, and Madurai are among the places that use groundwater extensively. Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Maharashtra are among the states with moderate freshwater use
• Karnataka, Odisha, Thiruvananthapuram, and other places with poor groundwater resources, is expected that if water use continues at its current rate, the development will be limited, and political disruption upheavals will occur

Managing and Conserving Water

After the number of freshwater decreases and its demand rises due to population increase, water protection and conservation become vital.

Watershed improvement, stormwater management, material recycling of water, and combinatorial groundwater use should be supported by the state for long-term water supply and quality.

Water Pollution Avoidance

Water supplies are becoming scarce at an alarming rate. Hilly places are said to have a lower population density and, as a result, have better water quality in respective rivers. Plains have a high population density, which means the freshwater in the waterways is of poor quality, and groundwater is heavily used for agricultural, home, and industrial purposes.

• Plains discharge agricultural residues (chemical fertilisation and pesticides), solid and residential wastes, and hazardous wastewater, contaminating freshwater resources to a greater extent
• Because of the reduced amount of water available throughout the summer, the percentage of contaminants in rivers stays high
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards worked together to evaluate the aquatic environment of national fishery ecosystems at 507 stations
• The examination of data collected from these sites reveals that organic and bacterial pollution greatly impacts India’s river systems
• Between Delhi and Etawah, the Yamuna is by far the most contaminated river in the nation. The Sabarmati in Allahabad, the Gomti in Lucknow, the Kali, the Adyar, the Cooum (at whole sections), the Vaigai in Madurai, the Musi in Hyderabad, as well as the Ganga in Kanpur and Varanasi are some of the other extremely streams and rivers
• Groundwater is also contaminated in certain sections of the nation due to excessive levels of heavy toxic metals and fluoride nitrates

Water Reuse and Recycling

• Reusing and recycling is the simplest and most effective approach to conserving drinkable water and ensuring it is accessible to everybody

• The water of lower waste and energy can be used by industries for cooling and firefighting, lowering their water costs, and conserving freshwater
• Harvested rainwater following bathing, cleaning utensils, washing clothing, and washing automobiles might be used for gardening
• Water reuse and recycling are now confined to a small number of people, but there is huge potential for water replenishment through recycling

Management of Watersheds

Watershed control is the procedure of effectively managing and conserving surface water.

The following activities are included in ecosystem management:

• resources of groundwater
• surface runoff avoidance
• Percolation tanks, replenishment wells, and other technologies are used to store and replenish groundwater
• All mineral wealth, including land, water, flora and fauna, and human resources, must be conserved, regenerated, and used wisely.

The effectiveness of a watershed modernisation program is dependent on community engagement. In India, both of the centre and states have launched many drainage basin designs and management initiatives at the federal and regional levels, including:

1. The federal government sponsors Haryali, and gram panchayats carry it out in various villages with public involvement. People were able to preserve water for a variety of purposes, including drinking, irrigation, fishing, and forest conservation, thanks to this method
2. State-led watershed development initiatives include Andhra Pradesh’s Neeru-Meeru (Water and You) Program and Rajasthan’s Arvary Pani Sansad.

With the cooperation of the people, countless percolation tanks, dug-out ponds (jihad), check dams, and other water-collecting structures were built under these different programs. Tamil Nadu is the only state that has made installing water harvesting systems in homes mandatory.

It is forbidden to construct a building without a water-harvesting structure. Despite the existence of such programs, most Indians are unaware of the benefits of watersheds development and management. As a result, more individuals must be encouraged to participate.

Conclusion

Drinking water, agriculture, hydropower, navigation, industry, and other uses are all prioritised in the National Water Policy, which was adopted in 2002. The policy’s main goals are to provide moisture to all humans and animals, to supervise freshwater effectiveness regularly, to raise awareness of moisture as a limited commodity, and to instil environmental protection conscious experience in people through education, regulatory oversight, benefits, and financial penalties, among other things.