Urban Water

Featured Articles
November 6, 2022 A film that focuses on importance of communitarian in situ water management
People are struggling to get the quantity and quality of water in urban areas (Image: Makarand Purohit)
October 15, 2022 Synthesis of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) spatial pattern in rural India: an integrated interpretation of WaSH practices
People in rural areas lack potable water, and use unsafe sanitation and hygiene facilities (Image: Sebastian Dahl)
September 13, 2022 Heavy rains and floods have battered Bengaluru yet again. Uncontrolled and unregulated development and concretisation of the city that pays no heed to the ecology and hydrology of the region needs to stop!
Urban flooding in Bangalore (Image Source: Thejas via Wikimedia Commons)
July 7, 2022 PMAY needs policy commitment to rehabilitate slums in small and medium cities of Gujarat
Need for legal framework for land rights in small and medium cities of Gujarat under PMAY (Image: Homes in the City)
December 11, 2021 Water remains inaccessible to the urban poor in the city of Mumbai as it continues to focus on developing new infrastructure to meet its very high per capita water needs. Why is this so?
Thirsty cities and the invisible poor  (Image Source: Aathavan Jaffna via Wikimedia Commons)
July 19, 2021 Urban India is hurtling towards a major water crisis. What are the important considerations that the Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban) should take into account to meet the water needs in urban areas?
Will urban India get respite from its water woes? (Image Source: Aathavan Jaffna via Wikimedia Commons)
The Water Future Conference in Bangalore: Towards a Sustainable Water Future
The recently concluded 4 day conference in Bangalore looked at the current state of global water resource challenges & future pathways to achieve the SDGs, while ensuring equity in access to all. Posted on 30 Sep, 2019 12:38 PM

The Water Future Conference in Bangalore last week, saw many from the scientific community, academia, research, civil society and the media come together to discuss the state of water resources across the world and in India, as well as future pathways and scenarios, and different technological a

Charles Vorosmarty, Chair, COMPASS Initiative, Water Future at the opening plenary on advanced water system assessments to address water security challenges of the 21st century.
India’s deepening water crisis
Making false doomsday claims of a water crisis could support problematic mega solutions, which could lead to more problems. Posted on 25 Sep, 2019 02:50 PM

The last few months have seen much debate and discussion on the fast approaching Day Zero, with claims that taps in 21 major Indian cities will dry up.

India's demand for water will exceed supply by a factor of two by 2030, as per a NITI Aayog report (Image: Vinoth Chandar, Flickr Commons (CC BY 2.0))
Indore leads the way in making its lakes pollution-free
Floating 'islands' give new lease of life to a lake in Indore Posted on 16 Sep, 2019 01:19 PM

Choked by sewage and effluent discharge, lakes in and around Indore are in a terrible state and in need of restoration. A bustling city in central India, Indore was declared the cleanest city in India three years in a row.

An attempt to make our lakes pollution free (Image: Clean Water)
How to restrict crops to geographically sustainable areas: The case of arecanut in Tumkur
Arecanut farmers in Karnataka are reeling from dipping groundwater levels and infrequent water supply for irrigation. In this article, some solutions are proposed. Posted on 13 Sep, 2019 12:19 PM

Arecanut is generally grown in the Malnad area of Karnataka, which receives high rainfall. However, it is also grown in dry land areas of Tumkur district, also in Karnataka, using groundwater.

Young arecanut trees grown in drylands of Tumkur region (Gubbi Taluk, Hodalur Village) Pic Credit: Chandana Eswar
100 wetlands identified for restoration in next five years
Policy matters this week Posted on 10 Sep, 2019 03:04 PM

Government identifies 100 wetlands for restoration in next five years

Deepor Beel, a wetland in Assam (Source: IWP Flickr photos)
Thousands ignored while Sardar Sarovar dam fills to capacity
News this week Posted on 10 Sep, 2019 02:50 PM

Sardar Sarovar dam fills up while ignoring thousands in submergence area

Sardar Sarovar Dam via Wikimedia Commons
Gujarat tops NITI Aayog’s water index for second time
India’s water crisis likely to worsen as demand projected to exceed supply by 2050, says report Posted on 09 Sep, 2019 08:53 AM

NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s policy think tank, recently released the second edition of the Composite Water Management Index to enable effective water management in Indian states. It warns that the country will lose 6% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2050 because of a water crisis.

With water outages, shortages and availability, one sees these pots in every home, village, by the rainbow-hued hundred in shops, and even in precarious bundles balanced on the bikes of travelling wallah pot-sale vendors in Chennai. (Image: McKay Savage, CC BY 2.0)
Water in Pune’s urban quagmire
A study develops a peri-urban and rurban water and sanitation index for Pune. Posted on 02 Sep, 2019 12:01 PM

Drinking water programs in India treat urban and rural areas separately, generally neglecting the special characteristics of settlements referred to as peri-urban – those on the outskirts or peripheries of urban areas, or “rurban” settlements i.e. rural areas with urban facilities.

A street in the city of Poonah [Pune] in 1871 (Image: Lester John Frederick, Wikimedia Commons)
Vanishing water bodies behind Ahmedabad’s warm climate
A study shows how the open space on the western bank of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad acts as a heat sink. Posted on 28 Aug, 2019 10:48 AM

A study published in the Journal of Remote Sensing and Space Sciences, analyzing the cooling effect of the city of Ahmedabad’s water bodies, has thrown up some interesting findings. The east bank of the Sabarmati river, which flows through Ahmedabad, was found to be significantly cooler than the west bank, witnessing a greater drop in temperature even during summer.

Silverbill enjoying the cool feeling of breeze on the wet feathers in the scorching heat (Image: Koshy, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)
Heavy rain and floods hit North India
News this week Posted on 22 Aug, 2019 12:00 PM

Rains wreak havoc in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab

Following the southern states witnessing heavy rainfall and floods this monsoon, the northern parts of India are now also experiencing incessant rains.

Gori river in Uttarakhand in spate during 2013 floods (Source: Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal)
×