Case Studies - Groundwater

A case study is a detailed study of some aspect of this subject

Climate change - Perspectives from India - A document published by UNDP, India

This document published by the UNDP includes a collection of articles and captures and disseminates some perspectives on climate change from the Indian context. Starting from an argument on a new climate deal to highlighting the importance of the small-scale industrial sector within climate change debates, some of India’s best known environmentalists, economists and policy makers have put forward their concerns and convictions in this collection.

Lessons for rural water supply - Assessing progress towards sustainable service delivery - India - IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, The Hague

This report by the IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre describes the findings of a study that was conducted in India as a part of a 13 country study that aimed at reviewing and better understanding the trends within rural water supply and identifying factors that appeared to contribute to or constrain the delivery of sustainable services at scale. The study also aimed at identifying organisational incentives and barriers that shaped the way in which sector institutions approached rural water services.

Climate change adaptation in Himachal Pradesh - Sustainable strategies for water resources - A report by the ADB

This report published by the Asia Development Bank (ADB) includes the findings of the study that examined the status of water resources in Himachal Pradesh, including the present and planned water utilisation across sectors and uses, within a framework of environment, conservation and sustainability. It also examined the present institutional arrangements for water resources management and assessed the requirements for institutional development, improvement in data collection and analysis, catchment and agriculture planning, and other reforms required to ensure sustainable water resources management.

Dynamic groundwater resources of Karnataka (2009) - Report by Department of Mines and Geology and Central Groundwater Board

This report by the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Southwestern Region provides information on groundwater resource available and the status of utilisation of groundwater in Karnataka as on March 2009, both on watershed (sub catchment) and taluk wise areas having 2008-2009 as the base year. The methodology is improved as the estimations are carried out on watershed basis for both command and non command separately than apportioned to taluks.

The report can be very useful for planning, decision making, implementation of minor irrigation schemes, financing well schemes. The report is helpful to concentrate on such areas where immediate protective measures are to be taken to conserve irrigation and drinking water supply in order to sustain groundwater resource.

Shades of blue: A symposium on emerging conflicts and challenges around water - Seminar magazine (October 2011)

Seminar magazine focuses on a pertinent topic each month. In October 2011, the issue titled 'Shades of blue' dealt with water conflicts and challenges in India.

The problem

(as posed by Sunjoy Joshi, Director and Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)

Here, the author explains that intense struggles over water are giving rise to conflicts at several levels, including individual, local, regional and international. These struggles over a resource exacerbate power struggles.

cover of the Seminar issue

Democratisation of water management - The experience of Tamil Nadu with governance reforms

Through these three papers, the authors argue that the solutions to the global water crisis do not lie in investing more and more money into the water sector or in the introduction of better technology. Nor is the introduction of the private sector and the reduction in the role of the government going to help. Rather, the time has come to introduce changes at the basic or the fundamental level in the way in which the water sector functions.

There is an urgent need to bring about reforms in governance by moving towards decentralisation and democratisation, leading to involvement of people from all the sections of the society, who know and understand that they are responsible for the system and its functioning, as well as by introducing principles of equity and social justice. The papers demonstrate the successful implementation of this approach by describing the experience of Tamil Nadu at democratising water management through introduction of reforms at the level of governance, through involvement of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).

Qualitative and quantitative water scarcity issues in Bihar - A presentation

This presentation highlights the grave water situation in Bihar in the context of the emerging water quality and quantity issues that the world and especially developing countries will be facing in the near future.

Water poverty in urban India - A study of major cities - A seminar paper -Tata Institute of Social Sciences

This seminar paper submitted for the UGC Summer Programme at the Jamia Millia Islamia University describes the findings of a study that explored the quantity of water used in domestic households vis-à-vis the recommended quantity of water consumption in seven major Indian cities, namely, Delhi, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Madurai. The study also attempted to find out equity in consumption of water across various socio-economic groups, sources of water supply, perception of households about quality of municipal water, and duration of municipal water supply

Chemical fertilizers in our water - An analysis of nitrates in the groundwater in Punjab by Greenpeace

Nitrates This study by Greenpeace India Society is an initial investigation into the effects of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on groundwater pollution in intensive agriculture areas in Punjab. The level of nitrate in drinking water was tested from groundwater artesian wells located within farms and surrounded by crops (mostly rice and wheat rotations).

Nitrate pollution in groundwater is associated with nitrogen loads in the environment. In urban areas, it is associated with sewage and in agriculture areas, with livestock sources and nitrogen fertiliser inputs. Nitrate pollution in drinking water can have serious health impact on humans, especially for babies and children. The most significant potential health effects of drinking water contaminated with nitrate are the blue-baby syndrome (methemoglobinemia) and cancer.

Towards drinking water security in India: Lessons from the field – A report by Water and Sanitation Program

This report by the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank provides an account of the field level initiatives on drinking water security in India. The country faces many challenges in ensuring reliable, sustainable safe drinking water supply to rural households.

Though, in terms of provision of safe drinking water, more than 90 percent of the rural households have been covered, according to the NSSO 65th round survey 2008-09, much remains to be done to improve levels of service delivery, water quality and sustainability.

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