Water in India

India is endowed with a rich and vast diversity of water resources. India has seasonal rainfall with high temporal and spatial variability. 50% of precipitation in a year falls in just 15 days and over 90% of rivers flow in just four months. But water management practices in India are sadly lacking and a situation of water shortage in India has resulted which is only getting worse.

Water Issues in India

According to the recent report on Water in India from India-Reports, the various issues related to Water Management in India are given below:

•    River Pollution:  All of India’s fourteen major river systems are heavily polluted, mostly from the 50 million cubic metres of untreated sewage discharged into them each year

•    Water Conflicts: Severe water shortages have already led to a growing number of conflicts across the country. Nearly 90% of India’s territory is drained by inter-state rivers. The lack of clear allocation rules and uncertainty about water sharing has led to major disputes between states.

•    Ground Water Pollution: The primary reasons are industrial pollution and extensive farming leading to agrochemical pollution of the groundwater. In case of industries, it is due to lack of treatment of effluents that are pumped into rivers and streams leading to groundwater pollution.

•    Poor management, crumbling infrastructure and depleting resources: By 2020, India’s demand for water will exceed all sources of supply. India’s past investments in large water infrastructure have yielded spectacular results with enormous gains in food security and in the reduction of poverty. However, much of this infrastructure is now crumbling. Faced with poor water supply services, farmers and urban dwellers alike have resorted to helping themselves by pumping out groundwater through tube wells. Today, 70% of India’s irrigation needs and 80% of its domestic water supplies come from groundwater. A number of areas are already in crisis situations: among these are the most populated and economically productive parts of the country.

•    Corruption: About one in 10 households paid bribes to regularize their water connection

•    Inadequate storage capacity: Developed, arid countries (United States, Australia) have built over 5000 cubic metres of water storage per capita. Middle-income countries like South Africa, Mexico, Morocco and China can store about 1000 cubic metres per capita. India’s dams can store only 200 cubic metres per person. India can store only about 30 days of rainfall, compared  to 900 days in major river basins in arid areas of developed countries.

•    Aquifer Depletion: Already about 15% of India’s food is being produced using non-renewable, “mined”, groundwater.

There is clearly an urgent need for action. First, India needs a lot more water infrastructure. Compared to other semi-arid countries, India can store relatively small quantities of its fickle rainfall. New infrastructure needs to be built, from large multipurpose water projects to small community watershed management and rainwater harvesting projects.

Read about the Water Resources and Water Management  Practices in India at http://www.india-reports.com/summary/water.aspx

Result Showing for:2009

1. DAWater: Troubled Waters : Water Issues in India
   
Sustainable water management in India is fast becoming a necessity, with the looming crisis over water resources in the country threatening the security and livelihood ... The National Water Policy (NWP), which was adopted in 1987, is the principal document stating the government’s position on water development issues.




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2. DAWater: Water in India Introduction
   
Water in India Characteristics and Issues ... Pollution and overuse are threatening water security in India and South Asia in the coming decades. Here we explain some of the environmental issues related to water in the region. Sustainable Water Management;




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3. Water supply and sanitation in India - Wikipedia on Ask.com
   
Water.org’s program in India provides safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities to the families living in rural and urban Indian communities in five states - Andhrah Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Tamil Nadu.




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4. Water.org » India
   
The New York Times (“In India, Water Crisis Means Foul Sludge“) gives a detailed look into the disastrous state of New Delhi’s water supply.  ... To achieve it at world level USA has to stop all of its production of weapons, provokin,g wars , in,trudin,g in, the local issues of world countries. To realize my ambition...




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5. Healthcare Economist · Water Problems in India
   
Drinking water quality Drinking water quality in rural India: Issues and approaches Background Paper Photo credit: WaterAid / Marco Betti WaterAid's vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.




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6. Microsoft Word - Drinking water.doc
   
CE of WaterAid, Lourdes Baptista, talks about water management, quantity and quality in India ... Learn more about the Water Wars reporting project. Learn about the Pulitzer Center's Global Gateway educational outreach. Read "Reporters talk about water scarcity in Africa" by Mark Waterman for Prep News, a publication of...




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7. Water Wars » WATER: Water Issues in India
   
Director of Nepal Water for Health, Umesh Pandey, talks about water issues in Nepal. ... WATER: Sanitation in India ... CE of WaterAid, Lourdes Baptista, talks about water management, quantity and quality in India...




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8. Water Wars » Your Stories
   
Availability:; If Item in stock, posted within 24 hours. Otherwise expected despatch within 5 to 15 working days. ... Published in India ... Bhopal Survivors Speak: Emergent Voices from a People's Movement launched in Bhopal, India...




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9. Politics of Himalayan River Water: River Water Issues in India,
   
Iraqis Back on the Net Amnesty a Distant Dream for Lanka Terror Suspects Myanmarese sue American company Spare a thought for women's health in India Dreaming of a future beyond slums In China, free flow of information comes at a premium Campagne de protestation contre la mort de Zahra Kazemi China's Losing Battle to Control ...




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