Groundwater

Featured Articles
October 17, 2022
Invisible informal groundwater markets
While informal groundwater markets cater significantly to the needs of smallholder farmers in India, they continue to be unacknowledged and understudied.
Groundwater, a finite resource (Image Source: TV Manoj via Wikimedia Commons)
July 5, 2022
Poisoned waters, threatened lives
Studies reveal that children are the most vulnerable to the health risks associated with groundwater contamination due to nitrate and fluoride, highlighting the need for urgent remedial measures.
POisoned waters, dangerous outcomes (Image Source: India Water Portal)
April 26, 2022
Making the invisible, visible
The water stewardship initiative by WOTR that developed a tool to visualise aquifers has not only helped farmers understand groundwater as a shared resource, but also led to a behavioural change among water users and helped implement groundwater laws and policies.
Groundwater, a fast disappearing resource (Image Source: India Water Portal)
February 13, 2022
Poisonous encounters, fatal outcomes!
A study provides new evidence that drinking water contaminated with arsenic can lead to still births, recurrent pregnancy loss and infertility among women.
A well in Rajasthan (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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)
Groundwater depletion in Punjab: Time for a major policy overhaul
The time for quick fixes is over; a comprehensive policy overhaul is urgently needed to impede the juggernaut of Punjab's groundwater depletion.
Balsher Singh Sidhu
Posted on 17 Jun, 2020 10:08 AM

Punjab, a small state in northwest India, derives its name from the Persian words panj (five) and ?b (water), meaning the "land of five rivers". Ironically, this state is now regularly in the news for its rapidly depleting groundwater levels.
Pumping groundwater with the energy generated from solar panels (Image: Prashanth Vishwanathan/IWMI; CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Villagers in Rajasthan show resilience during national lockdown
Continuing to prepare rural communities for the most unprecedented events in Alwar.
Jincy Chacko
Posted on 16 Jun, 2020 09:40 AM

India’s national lockdown to curb the fast-expanding community transmission of coronavirus led to life coming to a standstill across the country. The long pause of over three months is starting to ease, and the new shift towards “normal” gives health and hygiene ultimate attention.
Repairing the school infrastructures before students return to their classrooms (Image: Sehgal Foundation)
Fire in Assam to have catastrophic effect on ecozones: Experts
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 11 Jun, 2020 09:04 PM

Fire breaks at an oil well in Assam damaging ecozones around the site
Migratory birds flock Maguri Beel, which is 500 m away from the incident site (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Need to protect the unique geological features in the Upper Ken basin
An attempt to document the geological features, water potential, and traditional wisdom around them in the Upper Ken basin.
Seema Ravandale
Posted on 07 Jun, 2020 12:52 PM

Kathayi, a scheduled tribe (ST) dominated village in the midst of the forested stretches of Shahnagar block in Panna district faces acute water scarcity during the 3-4 summer months. Through the government schemes, three wells and two hand pumps were installed in this 75 household village in the last 10-15 years, but most of them are dysfunctional now.
Panghata Kund in village Aloni, Panna (June 2014, after initial monsoon) (Image: Seema Ravandale)
India’s deepening water crisis - need for a response at scale
Capacity building and data should not be seen as one-time activities but as a foundation for impactful, sustainable, large scale programmes.
Surbhi Arul
Bishwadeep Ghose
Posted on 01 Jun, 2020 03:22 PM

The water crisis in India has been in the making for sometime now, and the current COVID-19 pandemic has further brought to fore the challenges of safe water and hygiene, necessary for survival.
Residents of a village built a farm-pond and repurposed it to suit their needs (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Agricultural crop substitution can bridge rural and urban water needs
Rural and urban water crisis in India can be addressed through adaptive changes in current agricultural practices, as per a study in Maharashtra by the Indian School of Business.
Sakshi Singh
Shamil Khedgikar
Arun Murali CM
Indian School of Business
Posted on 01 Jun, 2020 02:51 PM

With 85 percent of water being utilized for agriculture in India, a gradual shift in agriculture towards water-intensive crops have exposed the country to an increased threat of water crisis. The erratic nature of monsoons adds to this exposure and calls for judicious use of water resources, especially in the dry regions.
Cropping pattern in Maharashtra over the past 40 years has shifted towards water-intensive crops like sugarcane (Image: Terry Sunderland/CIFOR)
Be wise, water wise - Students get on a mission to combat water crisis
An initiative by the students of Oasis International School, Bengaluru, focuses on water conservation and management, while also developing universal values like empathy, gratitude, love and respect.
Safa Mohammed
Oasis International School
Posted on 24 May, 2020 09:13 AM

In the past few years, India has undoubtedly developed remarkably, but not enough to eradicate all the problems it has been facing, including the shortage of water.
Students of Oasis International School participate in an initiative to help combat water crisis in a village (Image Source: Oasis International School)
Technology to build knowledge and capacities beyond COVID
The time has come to utilize technology to build resilience of communities by training them to strive for better livelihood opportunities where they want to.
Manisha Shah
Amrtha Kasturi Rangan
Bishwadeep Ghose
Posted on 22 May, 2020 09:14 AM

The COVID-19 crisis has brought the world to a standstill. Government, civil society and volunteers are rallying to ensure that social and economic inequalities do not dictate how this crisis draws lines between the “haves” and “have-nots”. Nonetheless, the crisis seems to have deepened the existing divide.
Bringing the digital revolution to the hands of real India (Image: CXOToday.com)
Impact of climate change on river basins in India
Climate change impact, adaptation and vulnerability assessment no longer a speculative, academic endeavor.
Dhananjay Singh
Posted on 21 May, 2020 07:29 PM

India has many reasons to be concerned about climate change. Its large population depends upon climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and forestry for its livelihood.
Global warming (Image: Sunando Roy, Flickr Commons, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Covid-19 could push 260 million Indians into poverty: Research
News this week
Swati Bansal
Posted on 20 May, 2020 10:42 AM

Nearly 260 million Indian could be pushed to poverty due to Covid-19: Researchers
Covid-19 could push 260 million Indians into poverty (Image Source: IWP Flickr photos)
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