3 Maps Explain India’s Growing Water Risks

An article for World Resource Institute:

http://www.wri.org/blog/2015/02/3-maps-explain-india%E2%80%99s-growing-water-risks

India is one of the most water-challenged countries in the world, from its deepest aquifers to its largest rivers.

Groundwater levels are falling as India's farmers, city residents and industries drain wells and aquifers. What water is available is often severely polluted. And the future may only be worse, with the national supply predicted to fall 50 percent below demand by 2030.

Enter the India Water Tool 2. 0. The new web platform is the most comprehensive, publicly available online tool evaluating India's water risks. Created by a group of companies, research organizations, and industry associations—including WRI and coordinated by theWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)—the tool can help companies, government agencies, and other water users identify their most pressing challenges and carefully target water-risk management efforts.

The tool illustrates the depth and breadth of India's water-related challenges. A few trends emerge:

54 Percent of India Faces High to Extremely High Water Stress

The map below illustrates competition between companies, farms and people for surface water in rivers, lakes, streams, and shallow groundwater. Red and dark-red areas are highly or extremely highly stressed, meaning that more than 40 percent of the annually available surface water is used every year.