Context

World Water Day was celebrated on March 22.

The theme of 2022 was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The theme aims to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation.

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Significance of groundwater resources

  • Groundwater is a vital water supply for humanity. Groundwater provides drinking water entirely or in part for as much as 50% of the global population and accounts for 43% of all of water used for irrigation. Worldwide, 2.5 billion people depend solely on groundwater resources to satisfy their basic daily water needs. Given this high dependency groundwater remains significant for sustainable development.
  • India is among the largest users of groundwater in the world. Almost 89% of the groundwater extracted is used for irrigation and the rest for domestic and industrial use (9% and 2%).
  • Groundwater remains the primary source of water for arid and semiarid regions.
  • Global warming is leading to high temperatures and drought like conditions, which threatens water security. Due to its high storage capacity and its inherent nature, groundwater is more resilient to the effects of climate change than surface water. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage.

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Concerns with groundwater management

Depletion of stored groundwater:

  • The annual groundwater extraction in India stood at around 248.69 billion cubic meters in 2017.
  • According to the Central Ground Water Board, the annual groundwater withdrawal is considered to be safe when the extraction rate is limited to below 70% of the annual replenishable recharge. Though the overall average for India stood at 63% in 2017, the extraction rate varies across the various regions.
  • States like Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry have crossed the 70% mark. Around 202 districts had extraction rate ranging from 71% to 385%. This high level of extraction has resulted in depletion of groundwater levels.

Deterioration of quality:

  • Groundwater remains highly vulnerable to deterioration of water quality both in terms of chemical and biological contaminants.
  • Fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate, and arsenic contamination are major problems when it comes to ground water.
  • Increasing number of districts have been reporting ground water quality deterioration. As many as 335 districts reported nitrate pollution in recent times as compared to 109 in 2006.

Lack of recognition of the importance of groundwater:

  • Despite the increasing dependence on groundwater and the critical role played by groundwater resource, its value has not been fully recognised in policymaking.

Issue of ownership:

  • There is currently no Central law on groundwater regulation. There is, however, a British-era law called the Indian Easement Act, 1882 which gives landowners the right to “collect and dispose” of all water under the land within their own limits.
  • Although groundwater recharging takes place through a geohydrological process and is not confined to administrative or property boundaries, a landowner has the exclusive right to groundwater available in their property. This ownership pattern disincentivizes the sustainable use of this critical natural resource.

Fragmented approach to management:

  • The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations.

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Recommendations

Integrated water management:

  • As proposed by the Mihir Shah Committee (2016), the Central Water Commission and the Central Ground Water Board should be united and a national water framework with an integrated perspective developed.
  • Such a move will help acknowledge and recognize the connections between surface and groundwater systems, both for governance and management. This will result in better effectiveness of water management.

Local level plans:

  • The new paradigm for groundwater management is a socio-ecological challenge, where localism matters.
  • Local-level plans covering water resources in all its forms: rainwater, surface water, soil water and groundwater and the resource use sectors will be more effective in water management.
  • Such a local area approach will help factor in aspects such as land use system and human behaviour in the water management system which would not be possible in the national or regional plans. It will also allow space for active public participation and community regulatory options to maintain groundwater balance at the village/ watershed level. Thus local level plans by involving the main stakeholders will prove to be more effective.

Sustainable water usage:

  • Given that agricultural irrigation accounts for the largest share of groundwater resource, linking cropping patterns and crop intensity with groundwater availability, aquifer type, and the present state of groundwater extraction at the farm level becomes an imperative.

Legal framework and introduction of groundwater usage charges:

  • Given the concerns associated with the treating of a community resource like water as a private resource, there is the need for an appropriate legal framework to address this challenge.
  • The introduction of groundwater usage charges should be introduced to motivate water saving.

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