Groundwater

Featured Articles
August 29, 2021
Poisoned waters, deadly outcomes!
A study shows that high arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bihar is linked with increase in cancer cases. Districts located near the Himalayan river basins have more people with cancer.
Drinking water in Bihar, linked to cancer (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
August 26, 2021
Poisonous encounters: Nitrate contamination of groundwater in Rajasthan
This study from Rajasthan found that anthropogenic factors led to nitrate contamination of groundwater. High nitrate levels in drinking water posed major health risks to children.
A well in Rajasthan (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
July 29, 2021
Demystifying groundwater for collective action
Experiences from participatory groundwater management efforts in Maharashtra
Unless work on managing the demand is undertaken, the notion of ‘infinite’ groundwater will be hard to address. (Image: Rucha Deshmukh, ACWADAM)
July 19, 2021
Will urban India gain respite from its water woes?
Urban India is hurtling towards a major water crisis. What are the important considerations that the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) should take into account to meet the water needs in urban areas?
Will urban India get respite from its water woes? (Image Source: Aathavan Jaffna via Wikimedia Commons)
July 8, 2021
Solar irrigation policies in India
A compilation of different state level solar irrigation policies provides a quick snapshot of institutional development of solar irrigation in India.
Different solar irrigation policies in India (Image: IWMI)
June 22, 2021
Toxic chemicals: A barrier to safe drinking water
Nonylphenol and its ethoxylates in drinking water: A health challenge
Water treatment facilities are incapable of removing many chemical compounds and need to be upgraded (Image: PxHere)
Where does the water in a well come from?
In the water sector, the focus on fixing demand and supply is taking us away from the real problem - the unnoticed groundwater dependencies in ever-expanding urban India. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 11 months 2 weeks ago

The environment versus development debate has increasingly become more polarised, with discussions in the public domain revealing a stark contrast of views. Development has increasingly come to symbolise ‘doing something’ and ensuring ‘visible outputs’, largely in the form of infrastructure.
An open well in Maharashtra (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos) Image used for representational purposes only.
Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan a low impact, high expenditure scheme: CAG
Policy matters this week Swati Bansal posted 11 months 3 weeks ago

Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan had a low impact in making Maharashtra drought free: CAG
Deepening work in progress under the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan (Source: Ravindra Pomane)
Overexploitation of groundwater highest in Punjab: Government
News this week Swati Bansal posted 11 months 3 weeks ago

Punjab no.1 in overexploitation of groundwater 
Overexploitation of groundwater highest in Punjab (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
Who is the thirstiest of them all?
A study evaluating the water use efficiency of sugarcane, curry banana and paddy among borewell irrigating farmers finds paddy to be the most inefficient and thirstiest of the three. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 11 months 3 weeks ago

Agriculture uses as high as 85 percent of the available water in India of which the irrigated area accounts for nearly 48.8 percent of the 140 million hectare (mha) of agricultural land, while the remaining 51.2 percent is rainfed.
Paddy, a thirsty crop (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Decision Support Space: A concept
Are we wired to make bad decisions and how can a Decision Support Space (DSSpace) facilitate better decision-making about water systems in India? Amita Bhaduri posted 11 months 4 weeks ago

Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote that he who has a ‘why’ to live can bear almost any ‘how'. A strong reason, motivation (why) and curiosity lead to actions that pave the path (how) to achieve any desired goal.
Decision-making on water is a multifaceted and cognitively overwhelming process (Image: Lolame, Pixabay)
Farm ponds need pondering
While farm ponds have often been depicted as magic wands to deal with water scarcity, experiences in Maharashtra show otherwise. Aarti Kelkar Khambete posted 1 year ago

Agriculture and inefficient water use in India
Farm ponds, often touted as magic wands to tackle water scarcity, have raised a number of concerns (Image Source: Ninad Sargar)
Uttarakhand: Reaching the unreached
PSI addresses the shortage of safe drinking water in remote Uttarakhand villages through a participatory community-based approach to springshed management. Amita Bhaduri posted 1 year ago

People in remote hamlets left out by previous schemes like Swajal and Sector Wide Approach Program of the Uttarakhand Jal Nigam and Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan longed for household-level piped water supply for drinking and domestic purposes.
Women trudged long distances daily to fetch water for their basic household needs in Rupail (Image: People's Science Institute)
Aqua Foundation’s XIV World Aqua Congress
The conference provides a unique opportunity to learn about the latest trends in best practices, innovative technologies and cutting edge research. Swati Bansal posted 1 year ago

About the conference: 
IUKWC Virtual User Engagement Initiative 2020
The India UK Water Centre welcomes you to a free, online event to engage with new water research tools and methods that could contribute to your operational practice. Swati Bansal posted 1 year ago

IUKWC has put together a set of interviews with researchers from six Indo-UK projects that provide an overview of their research outputs and how these can support water operations, management and/or decision making.

Fully interactive - interviewees will be available to answer your questions during two hour windows
Drying veins of Ganga: Can we have ‘Nirmal Ganga’ with dying tributaries?
There is an urgent need to prioritise uninterrupted river flow over unpolluted flow in the Namami Gange programme. Amita Bhaduri posted 1 year ago

India’s Himalayan rivers have been a cradle of civilisational development and a centre for faith and culture for ages. Ganga being a fertile basin has been a significant contributor to our agricultural economy as well as our river-based agrarian development.
The Baand river is nearly dry even when the region saw above normal monsoon this year. Much of the riverbed is encroached by farms. (Image: Adeel Khan and Praharsh Patel)
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