On March 22, the world will be observing World Water Day on the theme ‘Groundwater: making the invisible visible’. Initiated in 1993, this Day raises awareness of about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. The broad aim of this Day is to put the spotlight on groundwater management, enhance knowledge exchange and create awareness of the importance of groundwater.

In India, out of available water resources of 1,123 billion cubic meter (bcm), 433 bcm comes from groundwater and the remaining from surface water. Groundwater is the main source of domestic water supply for both rural and urban areas as more than 80 per cent of supply is sourced through it, making the country the largest user of groundwater in the world.

The agriculture sector uses 89 per cent of the groundwater for irrigation while 11 percent is used by the domestic and industrial sectors. This excessive extraction of groundwater has made almost 22 per cent of the assessed blocks critical or overexploited. At the State level, in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi groundwater extraction is more than 100 per cent.

There are about 8,000 major and small townships in the country and most of them depend on groundwater due to its easy accessibility. The construction of private tube wells, especially in housing colonies and multi-storey buildings, is going on unchecked and, as a result, dependency on groundwater, especially in big cities, has increased manifold times.

Groundwater also plays a significant role in regulating the economy of our cities. According to a study by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), as much as a third of the GDP of cities like Lucknow is directly dependent on groundwater. By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people and an eventual about 6 per cent loss in the country’s GDP.

Excessive exploitation of groundwater, urbanisation and associated concretisation are considered to be the major cause of the declining water table. However, global warming-induced climate change affects the hydrologic cycle and increases the variability of water supply, especially surface water. This will put more pressure on groundwater. Thus, recharging groundwater is essential.

Also, almost half of the districts in the country are reported to be having contaminated groundwater, with nitrate, fluoride, arsenic and other heavy metals.

Jal Jeevan Mission

To ensure universal access of drinking water, the government has launched Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide water tap connection to rural and urban households. This will result in connection to more than 10 crore households in rural areas and 2.68 crore households in urban areas by 2024.

Under JJM (rural), single village groundwater-based schemes with end-to-end source sustainability will be encouraged in groundwater-rich areas. In places where groundwater is not abundant, especially in the designated dark blocks and in areas affected by water quality issues, surface water based multi village schemes will be promoted.

Way forward

According to a report by NITI Aayog, if methods for water conservation in India were not adopted, around 20 cities including Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad would run out of groundwater in the next few years. Thus, rainwater harvesting and artificial groundwater recharge need to be adopted in a mission mode, across the country.

Most of the States have put in place legislation for protecting water bodies and enabling water harvesting in buildings. But a key policy reform — adequate pricing of water — is still far from becoming a reality. There is wide variation in the percentage of households being charged for water, with the average being about 45 per cent in non-Himalayan States.

Similar to rural areas, community engagement in urban areas is necessary to create a sense of responsibility among the masses. Water help groups/water users associations , with members trained to take care of water conservation activities at the local level, must be formed. Easy line of credit for implementation of water conservation measures should be made available to the groups.

Similarly, ‘commercial water user groups’ should be formed and engagement of commercial and bulk users in groundwater management must be ensured. Probably, a mechanism similar to ‘fire safety control’ needs to be placed for water conservation in premises of every commercial user having a specifically designated team of water warriors within the organisation.

For sustainable use of water, efficient management of groundwater is a must. Human induced climate change calls for conserving groundwater through efficient recharge and sustainable management. Innovative technologies like air-to-water systems, de-centralised wastewater treatment systems, construction of ‘green’ and ‘grey’ infrastructure like separate drains for stormwater management will reduce pressure on groundwater.

The Atal Bhujal Scheme is a step in the right direction for groundwater mapping and management. This will create more awareness of groundwater resources and their effective conservation.

Sarkar is a Distinguished Fellow in TERI, New Delhi, and a former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources. Tayal is a Senior Fellow in TERI