India Will Be Losing Groundwater Three Times Faster In 2041-2080

Context: 

• According to a recent research published in Science Advances, groundwater depletion in India is projected to triple between 2041 and 2080 due to the effects of global warming. 

More about the news: 

• Increased groundwater demand: As temperatures rise, there will be an increased demand for underground water resources, hastening their depletion.
• Groundwater level (GWL) decline: The estimate of GWL decline between 2041 and 2080, on average, is 3.26 times the current depletion rate. 
  • This estimate varies from 1.62 to 4.45 times the current rate depending on the specific climate model and Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenario.
  • RCPs serve as a framework for encapsulating various assumptions within a range of scenarios. These scenarios’ conditions are essential for modeling potential future climate developments.
• Farmers response to rising temperatures: Farmers have increased their use of groundwater in response to rising temperatures hastening the depletion of groundwater resources.
• Reduced irrigation capacity: Although increased irrigation helps mitigate the adverse effects of rising temperatures, groundwater depletion can reduce farmers’ long-term capacity for irrigation.
• Expanding Overexploitation of aquifers: Overexploitation may expand to include aquifers in the southwest, the southern peninsula, and central India by 2050.
  • It is a cause for concern, as these regions predominantly feature hard rock aquifers that are challenging to recharge and have limited storage capacity compared to the alluvial aquifers in northwest India.
  • Currently, most overexploitation of aquifers is concentrated in the northwest and south India.
• Faulty government policies: Farmers have been able to sustain groundwater irrigation despite declining water tables due to policies that encouraged groundwater extraction and an unregulated groundwater irrigation system. 
  • Factors such as increased access to borewells, free or subsidized electricity, and the absence of electricity metering have enabled farmers to extract groundwater as needed, ultimately leading to its overexploitation.

Suggestions by the report: 

• Water saving policies and interventions: Implementation of effective policies such as power supply rationing, electricity usage metering, incentives for farmers who invest in groundwater recharge, and the reduction of energy subsidies.
• Adoption of groundwater-saving measures: It will include the utilization of efficient irrigation technologies like drip or sprinkler irrigation, the cultivation of crops that require less water, and the exploration of supplemental irrigation through canals.
• Increased focus on south and central India: Water-saving policies and interventions, which have traditionally focused on northwest India, should now extend their scope to include south and central India.

Present status of groundwater extraction in India:

• India, with nearly 18% of the world’s population, occupies about 2.4% of the total geographical area and consumes 4% of total water resources.
•  As per a World Bank report, India is the largest groundwater user.
• Contribution of groundwater in agriculture is about 62 per cent, 85 per cent in rural water supply and 50 per cent in urban water supply, respectively.
• Over extraction at the current rate can make nearly 60% of India’s aquifers critical and threaten nearly 80% of drinking water over next two decades. 

Challenges with groundwater extraction in India: 

• Accelerated population growth: The burgeoning urban population increases demand for water as well as the management of waste and polluted water. 
• Over-exploitation:  Increased number of  private bore / tube wells to fulfill the demand and supply of water leads to deepening of the water table, land subsidence, saline water intrusion and aquifer contamination.
• Modification of groundwater cycle: Unplanned urbanisation modifies the groundwater cycle and results in a sharp decline or rise of groundwater levels, reduced well yields and deteriorating quality. 
  • Underground infrastructures like tunnels, metros, basements as well as disturbed natural drainage systems and watershed areas result in the loss of habitat and frequent urban flooding.
• Urban groundwater pollution: Infiltration and seepage from roads, gardens, industrial sites, waste dump sites, effluent drains with heavy metals and micro-pollutants; microbiological contamination through the sewage system and on-site sanitation.
• Groundwater contamination: Overexploitation and contamination have adversely impacted both the water quantity and quality of a resource that the country is heavily dependent on. 
  • 76% of the water samples collected contained contaminants that included fluoride and uranium  which was higher than the limits prescribed by WHO.
• Minimal rainwater harvesting: Although the rains are intense in many places, the rainwater harvesting is minimal. 
  • For example, in Delhi the potential of rainwater harvesting is 2500 million litres per day, but most of the rainwater goes waste.
• Lack of effective regulatory mechanism: There is no central law governing the use of groundwater and various states have their own laws on regulating its extraction that are deployed in a perfunctory manner.
• Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs): It hinders the achievement of the United Nations-mandated SDG especially SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).

Regulatory Framework:

• Indian Easement Act, 1882: Land ownership rights under this exclude a large part of the society that has no land rights and gives landowners the liberty to withdraw limitless water. 
• Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA): It was formed in 1970 specifically to develop groundwater policies and programs. Under this groundwater was acknowledged as a public resource.
• Model Groundwater Bill(MGB): MGB passed in 1970 was revised in 2011, 2016 and 2017. These bills empowered the state groundwater boards to create laws, manage water allocation and other relevant issues.
• National Water Framework Bill, 2016: It seeks to provide an overarching national legal framework based on principles for protection, conservation, regulation and management of water.
• Groundwater (Sustainable Management) Bill, 2017: The Bill addresses the need for the creation of protection zones for the protection of aquifers from unrepairable depletion.

Government Initiatives for groundwater conservation:

• National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Wastewater: The framework gives guidelines for the formulation of State reuse policy and is intended to build appropriate market and economic models for the reuse of treated wastewater. 
• Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABY): It brings up behavioral changes in groundwater management in water stressed States.
• National Project on Aquifer Management (NAQUIM): It envisages the mapping aquifers to help gather authentic data and enable informed decision-making.
• Jal Shakti Abhiyan: It was launched in 256 water stressed districts in the country in collaboration with states to improve water availability, including groundwater conditions in the country.
• National Water Mission: Its objective is to conserve water resources, improve water use efficiency, and promote sustainable water management practices.

Way Forward:

• Wastewater recycle and reuse: Provision for wastewater recycle and its reuse to promote the circular economy of one water cycle will help in source sustainability and groundwater pollution mitigation. 
• Interventions for groundwater recharge: Rainwater harvesting, stormwater harvesting, rain-garden and bio-retention ponds that intercept rainfall with vegetated land are low-maintenance alternatives to conventional systems. 
• Blue-green infrastructure approach: The green (trees, parks, gardens, playgrounds and forests) and the blue (seas, rivers, lakes, wetlands and water utilities) spaces can help in recharge of groundwater.
  • Ex-Bhopal’s green-blue smart city plan, Bengaluru through its recharge wells.
• Climate-resilient sanitation technologies:  With this, septic tanks and sewerage systems will not be affected by frequent floods, which helps in protecting the groundwater aquifers.
• Strengthening of regulatory frameworks: Legal frameworks with stringent regulations and monitoring of groundwater extraction, contamination and recharge can reverse the damages.
• Aquifer mapping and data dissemination: Aquifer characterisation and robust monitoring of groundwater quality as well as quantity are imperative with provision of data collection, formulation of effective regulatory legal policies.
• Promotion of Water efficient crops: Draft National Water Policy has recommended a shift in usage from water-guzzling crops and prioritising recycled over freshwater for industrial purposes.

News Source: DTE