The document discusses identifying key water management issues (KWMI) for river basins in India. It lists categories of significant issues like diffuse pollution from agriculture and sewage, point source pollution from effluents, water abstraction, flow regimes, and physical alterations. Identifying KWMI requires analyzing pressures and impacts with tools like models of surface-groundwater interactions and climate change. A consultation process asks stakeholders if the identified issues are complete and if any water bodies should be classified differently. The document provides an example of the European Union's approach to follow up on KWMI identification.

1. Technical Exchange on River
Basin Management Planning
13-14 February 2017, Hyderabad

2. Impulse Contribution
Approach and Benefit to Identify Key
Water Management Issues for the
National and Basin-wide Level
Nitin Bassi
Expert, India-EU Water Partnership
Technical Exchange on the Development of Integrated Water
Resources Management Plans in India,
13-14 Feb 2017

3. Key water management issues?
 These are the pressures
acting upon the water
environment that can put
our ability to achieve the
social, economic and
environmental objectives
of the existing water
legislation and policies at
risk.
Source: CSE, 2014

4. Categories of significant water management
issues in river basins
 Diffuse pollution: Agriculture,
electricity production, sewage
disposal activities
 Point source pollution: Sewage
and industrial effluents
 Abstraction and flow regimes:
water supply, agriculture,
hydropower
 Morphology: Physical
alterations such as weirs,
dams, channelization
 Alien species/Loss of native
species
Source: CPCB, 2009 and CWC

5. Prerequisites for an appropriate and successful
pressures and impacts analysis
Source: EC, 2003
For instance, to meet sectoral
water demands or water
quality improvements
Surface-groundwater
interactions, rainfall-
runoff models,
Climate change
models
Annual renewal water
resources, land use
changes, major
polluting sites

6. Consultation process in identifying the KWMIs
 Do you agree that these are the key issues impacting
the water bodies within the river basin?
 Are there other key issues at the river basin level that
have not been considered?
 Are there water bodies that have been identified as
heavily modified which you believe could achieve better
status (in terms of water availability and water quality)?
 Are there water bodies that have not been identified as
heavily modified that you believe should be
designated?

7. Follow up actions: A typical example of EU
approach
Source: SEPA, n.d.