Although India possesses only 4% of the world's renewable water resources, it is home to roughly 18% of the world's population. India has an average annual precipitation of 4,000 billion cubic meters (BCM), making it the country's primary source of freshwater. Surface water, subsurface river flow, groundwater, and frozen water are all-natural sources of freshwater. Treated wastewater (reclaimed water) and desalinated seawater are two examples of artificial freshwater sources. In this article, we will be focusing on the water resources of our country for the UPSC Exams.

Distribution of Water on Earth

• Water resources are natural water resources that have the potential to be used as a source of water.
• Saltwater makes up about 97 per cent of the world's water.
• Freshwater makes up only 3% of the total, with slightly more than two-thirds frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. The remaining unfrozen freshwater is mostly found as groundwater, with only a little amount found above ground or in the atmosphere.

Availability and Potential of Water Resources in India

• India covers around 2.45% of the world's surface area and has 4% of the world's water resources.
• In India, rainfall is the primary source of freshwater. For a country of its size, India receives the second most amount of rainfall.
• India receives an average of 1,170 millimeters (46 in) of rain per year, which equates to around 4,000 cubic kilometers (960 cu miles) of rain per year, or about 1,720 cubic meters (61,000 cu feet) of freshwater per person.
• Water Resources of India can be classified into:
  1. Surface water Resources
  2. Groundwater Resources

Surface Water Resources

• In India, there are four significant surface water resources. They are rivers, lakes, ponds, and tanks.
• In India, there are around 10,360 rivers and their tributaries with a length of more than 1.6 kilometers.
• The total yearly flow in India's river basins is estimated to be 1,869 cubic kilometers. However, only roughly 690 cubics (37%) kilometers of accessible surface water can be used.

This is because:

• A four-month period accounts for roughly 90 percent of the annual flow of Himalayan rivers.
• Capturing such resources is difficult and constrained because of the unavailability of adequate storage reservoir sites.
• The amount of water that flows through rivers is determined by the catchment basin, the size of the river basin, and the amount of rainfall that falls within the catchment basin.
• Within the catchment areas of the Ganga, Brahmaputra, and hence the Barak rivers, precipitation is abundant. These three rivers cover less than a third of India's total land area. However, it controls 60% of India's surface water resources.
• The southern rivers, on the other hand, have significant flow variability throughout the year.

Groundwater Resources

• The country's total replenishable groundwater resources are around 432 cubic kilometers.
• About 46% of the total replenishable groundwater resources are found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra basins.
• In the river basins of the northwestern area and sections of south India, groundwater utilization is relatively high.
• India also relies heavily on groundwater resources, which account for more than half of all irrigated land and serve 20 million tube wells.
• To conserve river waters and improve groundwater recharging, India has built about 5,000 major or medium dams, barrages, and other structures.

Lagoons and Lakes

• India contains a wide coastline and because of this, a diversity of lagoons and lakes have developed.
• States like Kerala, Odisha, and West Bengal have huge surface water resources in these lagoons and lakes.
• The water in these locations is habitually brackish.
• This brackish water is utilized to irrigate specific types of paddy, coconuts, and other crops, the water bodies are also used for fishing.

Dams And Rivers

• To store river waters and improve ground water recharging, India has built nearly 5,000 major or medium dams, barrages, and other structures.
• The major dams (59 in total) have a total storage capacity of 170 billion cubic meters.
• About 15% of India's food is produced with groundwater resources that are rapidly depleting or being mined.
• The end of an era of massive groundwater use expansion will necessitate a greater reliance on surface water supply systems.

Usage of Water

• Irrigation is by far the biggest consumer of India's water reserves, accounting for 78 percent of total water reserves, followed by the household sector(6%), and the industrial sector (5%).
• In both urban and rural India, groundwater is a key supply of drinking water. Groundwater reserves provide 45 percent of total irrigation and 80 percent of household water.
• In some states, overuse of groundwater has led to a major scarcity of water.

Per Capita availability of Water in India

• Water availability of fewer than 1700 m3 per capita per year is defined as 'water strained,' while less than 1000 m3 per capita per year is classified as 'water scarcity,' according to international standards.
• In India, surface water availability was 2309 m3 in 1991 and 1902 m3 in 2001, respectively.
• However, by the years 2025 and 2050, per capita surface water availability is expected to be reduced to 1401 m3 and 1191 m3, respectively.
• In 2010, per capita, water availability in the country was 1588 m3, compared to 5200 m3 in 1951.

Water Pollution and Scarcity

• India's surface water resources are polluted to the tune of 70%.
• Wastewater from various sources, intensive agriculture, industrial output, infrastructural development, and untreated urban runoff are all major contributors to water contamination.
• According to the WHO, water is responsible for half of India's sickness.
• In India, 54 percent of rural women had to walk between 200 meters and 5 kilometers every day to get drinking water in 2012.
• Overharvesting of groundwater resources is causing a water crisis in villages. Groundwater supplies over 80% of the country's drinking water.

Water Stress in India: What Causes It?

• Households and agriculture both require a lot of water as the population grows.
• India's large agricultural sector consumes the majority of the country's water, leaving less for industry and homes.
• Rapid urbanization: The high water demand of India's densely populated cities is putting a strain on groundwater and surface water resources.
• Climate change: will have a huge impact on Himalayan water resources as well as monsoonal rainfall.
• Rising temperatures: will boost evaporation and precipitation, while rainfall will vary more dramatically across the country.
• Droughts and floods: may become more common in different places at different periods, and mountainous areas can expect major variations in snowfall and snowmelt.
• Aquifer depletion: As the world's population grows, many of the world's major aquifers are becoming exhausted. owing to direct human consumption as well as groundwater irrigation for agriculture.
• Pollution and water protection: Many pollutants endanger water supplies, but the discharge of raw urban sewage, untreated industrial waste, and agricultural runoff containing pesticides, insecticides, and fertilizers into natural waters is the most common, especially in developing nations.
• Despite advancements in the availability and quality of urban drinking water systems in India over the last few decades, the country's high population has put a strain on projected water resources, and rural areas have been left out.

Is our water Safe?

• India's surface water resources are polluted to the tune of 70%.
• Wastewater from various sources, intensive agriculture, industrial output, infrastructural development, and untreated urban runoff are all major contributors to water contamination.
• 2.9 billion gallons of untreated wastewater from industrial and domestic sources are discharged into the Ganga every day.
• Rubbish management in India has not been as effective as it needs to be to handle the growing volume of waste generated daily, particularly in cities.
• In India, municipal wastewater treatment capacity has only accounted for 29% of waste generated in urban habitations with populations greater than 50,000, and the gap is expected to widen.

Government Measures to alleviate the stress of the water crisis

• Include the initiation of the 'Jal Shakti Abhiyan,' a campaign for water conservation and security, by the Ministry of Jal Shakti. Citizens are encouraged to participate in the program, which focuses on water-stressed districts and blocks around the country.
• 'Har khet ko pani' and 'More Crop per Drop' are two slogans for the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchay Yojana (PMKSY), which focuses on increasing water efficiency.
• Other initiatives include the National Water Mission, National Ganga Mission, Dam Improvement and Rehabilitation Programme, Groundwater Management, Flood Control and Forecast, Biodiversity Conservation, Wetland Conservation, Green India Mission, CAMPA, and others.
• Jal Kranti Abhiyan: Through block-level water conservation programs, the government is actively working to modernize communities and towns. Its goal is to turn one water-scarce village in each district of the country into a water-surplus village by using a holistic and integrated approach that includes conservation and management approaches.
• The National Water Mission was started by the Indian government with the goal of conserving water, reducing waste, and ensuring more equitable distribution across and within States through integrated water resource development and management.
• One of the Mission's goals is to double the efficiency of water use by 20 percent. The new 'Jal Shakti Ministry is the result of the merger of two previous ministries: the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation and the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• Drinking-Water and Sanitation Ministry In certain over-exploited and water-stressed areas, the Atal Bhujal Yojana aim to promote sustainable groundwater management with community engagement.
• National Rural Drinking Water Program Restructured — Expanding access to piped drinking water in rural areas. Increase the quality of service provided. The focus on water quality coverage has an impact on people's lives.
• Jal Jeevan Mission: The continuing National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) has been reformed and integrated into the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to supply Functional Family Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household, i.e. Har Ghar Nal Se Jal (HGNSJ) by 2024.

Best Water Conservation Practises

• The 'Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan' is a scheme in Rajasthan. One of its goals is to ensure that water conservation and water harvesting activities are carried out effectively in rural regions.
• Maharashtra has initiated a program named 'Jalyukt-Shivar,' which aims to eliminate water scarcity in 5000 villages every year.
• The Telangana government has launched "Mission Kakatiya," with the goal of improving agriculture-based income development for small and marginal farmers by speeding up the development of minor irrigation infrastructure, strengthening community-based irrigation management, and implementing a comprehensive tank restoration program.

Conclusion

Water is one of the most basic, widely used, and exploited natural resources, and it is perhaps on par with the other essential natural resources for life's survival. Although India has abundant water resources, most of it is getting wasted due to mismanagement, pollution, lack of wastewater management, and other such reasons. Water, being the most important resource for survival, should be conserved. The Government as well as the common masses has to work hand in hand in order to conserve water.

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