Surface Water

Featured Articles
October 11, 2022 In an effort to inform the general public, especially citizen activists, policymakers, researchers, and students, about the current status of the Vrishabhavathi river, Paani.Earth has created the necessary maps, data, analysis, and information to drive conservation awareness and action around the river.
Vrishabhavathi river (Image Source: Paani.Earth)
August 9, 2022 Ensuring irrigation through farm ponds in tribal Chhattisgarh
Many tribal farmers opted for individual farm ponds under MGNREGA ensuring protective irrigation. (Image: Meenakshi Singh)
November 8, 2020 The National Hydrology Project has created a national platform for water data and is working to enhance the technical capacities of agencies dealing with water resources management.
Breakthrough cloud computing facilities and remote sensing applications have helped showthe filling pattern of a water body (tank or reservoir) through freely available satellite imagery at an interval of five days.  (Image: Maithan dam, Wikimedia Commons)
December 26, 2019 Policy matters this week
The Mandovi river disputed between Karnataka and Goa (Source: IWP Flickr Photos)
A speed limit on river use
"People tend to ask what (revenue in dollars) water for environmental flows is going to generate. That's not the question you should be asking", says Professor Jay O'Keeffe in an interview with IWP. Posted on 21 Mar, 2015 01:08 PM

Professor Jay O'Keeffe is well-known to all those who are interested in the concept of environmental flow releases. The Professor has been involved in this, all over the world, since the seventies.

The Ganga at sunset
Can Madurai's dying tanks be revived?
Yes, say the authors, but not before these tanks are recognized in a manner befitting their past glory: as prized resources that provided water to the city even though it had no perennial rivers. Posted on 19 Mar, 2015 09:34 PM

Madurai, Tamil Nadu's second largest city, is now filled with buildings and roads which are eating into its age old network of tanks and canals. This change did not happen overnight. It began in the late 19th century by the British when they merged several hamlets to establish their headquarters in the region.

A tank on the outskirts of Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Land Bill opposed in the Rajya Sabha
Policy matter this week Posted on 17 Mar, 2015 04:28 PM

Opposition to the Land Acquisition (Amendment) Bill

Construction activity on what was once a farm land
Patna HC wants Ganga's original course restored
Policy matters this week Posted on 09 Mar, 2015 10:56 PM

Restore Ganga's original course: Patna HC

River Ganga
World's only floating freshwater lake under threat
Evidence shows that the Loktak lake in Manipur, famous for its floating heterogenous masses of vegetation, is getting more and more polluted. Posted on 06 Mar, 2015 11:02 PM

The Loktak lake in Manipur is the largest freshwater lake in Northeast India. It is famous for the phumdis, which are isolated collections of heterogenous masses of vegetation, soil, and organic matter at various stages of decomposition, floating over it [1]. It is referred to as the only floating lake in the world because of the phumdis [2].

View of Loktak lake (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Kashmir's lake fisheries are dying a slow death
The decline of local species, aggressive promotion of species such as carp, and emphasis on tourism have led to a decline in fish production in Kashmir's Dal and Wular lakes. Posted on 06 Mar, 2015 10:33 PM

Fisheries form an important component of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir, which along with agriculture, contributes a significant 23% to its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). Besides being an important allied activity to agriculture, it contributes significantly to the agricultural economy and also generates self-employment.

View of the Wular Lake (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Water for All & Other Poems: Poetry with a purpose
A set of poems by G Venkatesh, a researcher on water and sanitation issues, seamlessly bring together important issues concerning water in verse form. Posted on 06 Mar, 2015 05:06 PM

An engineer or an ecologist talking about water may not cause many heads to turn, but when they do it through poetry, there is a chance that more people will take notice.

Water for all and other Poems
Are there solutions to epidemics from water-borne diseases?
The recent jaundice outbreak in Sambalpur, Odisha has again unfolded several questions related to rise of water-borne diseases in urban areas in India. This film explores these problems. Posted on 02 Mar, 2015 10:06 PM

Between May and December 2014, 17 deaths were registered in Sambalpur due to jaundice but residents say that the death toll due to water-borne diseases is much more than that. In January 2015, the Odisha High Court issued a notice to the state government asking it to furnish details on the steps taken to check the Jaundice outbreak in Sambalpur. 

What is Jaundice?

Polluted water in Sambalpur, Odisha
Budget cuts for Water and Environment Ministry
Policy matters this week Posted on 02 Mar, 2015 09:29 PM

Union Budget 2015-16 reduces funds for Water and Environment Ministry 

Budget allocation and planning
Coliform contamination and cholera: Deciphering the connection
Cholera, a possibly life threatening infection, spreads through water and food contaminated with feces. So, how hard is it to contain or prevent the infection? Posted on 02 Mar, 2015 05:34 PM

Vibrio cholerae is responsible for 100,000 -120,000 deaths annually, worldwide. [1] Commonly found in ponds, rivers and brackish areas, the bacterium finds its way into humans through contaminated food and water. And the result?

Water contaminated with plastics and more
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