Water scarcity is a growing problem in India due to rising population, overexploitation of resources, and poor management. The document discusses how India's growing population and economy are straining limited water supplies, with demand expected to exceed availability by 2025. It provides details on water scarcity specifically in Tamil Nadu, where less than 500 cubic meters of water is available per person annually and groundwater levels are falling dramatically. The key impacts of water scarcity mentioned are drought, crop failure, unemployment, and conflicts over access to water.

1. Water scarcity
Challenging the future…….

2. Advisory committee
CHAIRMAN
Dr.T.BALAKRISHNAN M.SC.(Ag.),PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Agricultural Extension
MEMBERS
Dr.G.TAMILSELVI
Professor
Department of Agricultural Extension
Dr.S.BABU
Assistant Professor
Department of Agronomy

4. INTRODUCTION
• Water is a life because plants, animals, human beings
and any other living organisms cannot live without
water.
• Water is needed to ensure food security, feed
livestock, take up industrial production and to
conserve the biodiversity and environment.
• Although, India is not a water poor country, due to
growing human population, severe neglect and over-
exploitation of this resource, water is becoming a
scarce commodity

5. contd..
• While this is a growing concern all over the
world, India is most vulnerable because of the
growing demand and in-disciplined lifestyle
• This calls for immediate attention by the
stakeholders to make sustainable use of the
available water resources to ensure better
quality of lives.

6. Contd..
• By 2025, one-third of the population of the
developing world will face severe water shortages
(Seckler et al. 1998).
• Yet, even in many water-scarce regions, large
amounts of water annually flood out to the sea.
• However, in many cases, the floodwater is not
fully utilized; and, of course, the floods
themselves can do a great deal of harm.

7. Contd..
• More than two billion people worldwide live in
regions facing water scarcity and in India this is
a particularly acute crisis.
• Millions of Indians currently lack access to clean
drinking water, and the situation is only getting
worse.
• India’s demand for water is growing at an
alarming rate.

8. Contd..
• India currently has the world’s second largest
population, which is expected to overtake
China’s by 2050 when it reaches a staggering
1.6 billion, putting increasing strain on water
resources as the number of people grows.

9. A blue planet: ….but

10. The world’s water
resources
Glaciers,
Snow &
permafrost
1.725%
Ground
water
0.075%
Lakes,
swamps &
rivers
0.025%
Oceans
97.5%
3

12. Facts of water
• Water is made of tiny molecules of hydrogen and oxygen.
• Pure water has no colour, no taste and doesn’t smell of
anything.
• Water exists in three forms on the earth
• Solid (Ice, hail, snow or frost).
• Liquid (In lakes, oceans, rain, dew, fog or mist)
• Gas (Steam or water vapour- ”Invisible” water in the air.

13. Where can we get water
• About 97 per cent of the water on the earth’s
surface is in world’s ocean.
• Remaining 3 per cent like
 Lakes
 Rivers
 Polar ice cabs
 Clouds
 Rain
 Stored in rocks (Aquifers)
 Sea ice

14. Why do we need water
• Drinking
• Bathing
• Agriculture
• Sanitation
• Industries etc..

16. Water Scarcity
• Is lack of water to meet the demand(quantity) or lack of
access to safe water quantity.
• “Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water
resources to meet the demands of water usage within a
region.
• Situation where the unavailability of water or less than
regions demand.

17. TYPES OF SCARCITY

18. Types
• Economic scarcity:
 Developed world funding reliable resource of safe water
is often consuming and expensive.
 Lack of compassion and good governance that allows
the condition to persist.
 Does not have the necessary monetary to utilize an
adequate source of water.
 Unequal distribution of resources. Political and ethinic
conflict etc…

19. Physical scarcity:
 Some area lack of water is more profound
problem.
 Physical access to water is limited.
 Demand outstrips the lands ability to provide the
needed water.
 Happen in dry part of world or arid region.

20. CAUSES OF WATER
SCARCITY……..

21. CAUSES OF WATER
SCARCITY

23. Population growth
• The world’s population is growing at a rate of 80 million
people each year.
• This means that each year we need to find a way to add
about 64 billion cubic meters of water to the global water
supply.
• India is the second most populous country in the world,
with more than 1 billion citizens. Roughly half of India’s
population, a staggering 569 million, practice open
defecation.
• In the year 2050, India will be number one in population.

24. OVER POPULATION- Unavailability of water

26. CONTD...
• There are millions of people all over the world who don’t
have access to water, or, if they have access, that water
is unable to be used.
• About 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water
and 3% of it is actually freshwater that is fit for human
consumption.
• According to WWF(world wildlife fund), some 1.1 billion
people worldwide lack access to water, and a total of 2.7
billion find water scarce for at least one month of the
year.

28. Pollution of water
• Water pollution is a huge problem, especially
when you’re looking at areas that don’t
necessarily have a good sewage system.
• Pollution can be anything from oil, to carcasses,
to chemicals, and to fecal matter.
• No matter what it is; it makes a lot of issues for
the people who may need to use it.

31. Agriculture
• 90 per cent of total water resources used in agriculture.
• 80 per cent of ground water goes to irrigation and
agricultural purposes.
• While agriculture is one of our countries most significant
water users some innovative solutions have been
developed to improve water use efficiency and maintain
or even increase yields.

34. Governmental Policies
• In some countries, specifically those with
dictatorships, the use of water may be
strictly controlled by those in power,
causing a scarcity for those who may be
located in those areas of the world.
• These governments use it as a source of
control over those that they are governing,
which can be a huge problem.

36. EFFECTS

38. Lack of Access to Drinking
Water
• Clean drinking water is scarce and there are millions of
people across this globe who spend their entire day
searching for it.
• Yet, people who have access to safe, clean drinking
water take it for granted and don’t use it wisely.
• Water scarcity involves water crisis, water shortage,
water deficit or water stress.
• The biggest problem that happens when you have water
scarcity is that people are not able to get fresh, clean
drinking water.

40. Hunger
• Non availability of water leads to low
production which ends in hunger and
poverty.
• Animals will also die, which will result in a
lack of meat as well.
• Water scarcity, in short, causes starvation
to occur en masse for both people and
animals that are located in the area.

42. Lack of Education
• Water scarcity makes it difficult for people
to get the education that they need or that
they deserve.
• Why? Mainly, because those children are
either too sick to go to school or they are
working to help get water to the home and
the family.

44. Sanitation Issues
• Without access to clean water, there is no
way to clean food, dishes, or people.
When people are not given access to
proper sanitation, disease (which we
talked about above) ends up becoming
much more of an issue than it would have
been otherwise. It also causes mental
health issues, including depression and
anxiety.

47. Poverty
• All in all, people who are dealing with
water scarcity are often stuck in poverty as
well.
Source:
https://thewaterproject.org/why-water/poverty

51. • Water is one of the most important renewable natural
resources for supporting life.
• With the increasing population of India as well as its all-
round development, the utilization of water is also
increasing at a fast pace.
• On an average, India receives annual precipitation
(including snowfall) of about 4000 km3
.
• However, there exist considerable spatial and temporal
variations in the distribution of rainfall and hence in
availability of water in time and space across the
country.

52. • It is estimated that out of the 4000 km3
water, 1869 km3
is
Average annual potential flow in rivers available as water
resource.
• Out of this total available water resource, only 1123 km3
is
utilizable (690 km3
from surface water resources and 433
km3
from ground water resources).
• The water demand in the year 2000 was 634 km3
and it is likely
to be 1093 km3
by the year 2025.
• Due to rapid rise in population and growing economy of the
country, there will be continuous increase in demand for water,
and it will become scarce in the coming decades.

54. • According to the international norms, a country can be
categorized as 'water stressed' when water availability is less
than 1700 m3
per capita per year whereas classified as 'water
scarce' if it is less than 1000 m3
per capita per year.
• In India, the availability of surface water in the years 1991 and
2001 were 2309 m3
and 1902 m3
.
• However, it has been projected that per capita surface water
availability is likely to be reduced to 1401 m3
and 1191 m3
by the
years 2025 and 2050, respectively.
• The Per capita water availability in the year 2010 was
1588 m3
against 5200 m3
of the year 1951 in the country.

56. WATER SCARCITY IN INDIA
• Average water consumption around the world is about
53 litres per head per day.
• India expects to soon have only about 20 litres available
per head per day.
• There has been extensive droughts lasting a long time
and now with global climate change, things will become
even more difficult.
‘Anyone who can solve the problems of water will be worthy of two
nobel prizes - one for peace and one for science’John.F.Kennedy

58. Contd...
• More than two billion people worldwide live in regions
facing water scarcity and in India this is a particularly
acute crisis.
• Millions of Indians currently lack access to clean drinking
water, and the situation is only getting worse.
• . India’s demand for water is growing at an alarming rate.
India currently has the world’s second largest population,
which is expected to overtake China’s by 2050 when it
reaches a staggering 1.6 billion, putting increasing strain
on water resources as the number of people grows.

61. Contd..
• Since independence, India’s primary goals have been
economic growth and food security, completely
disregarding water conservation.
• This has caused serious ramifications being felt today,
as many citizens still operate under these principles.
• Unlike many other developing countries, especially those
with acute water scarcity issues such as China and
Indian law has virtually no legislation on groundwater.
• . Anyone can extract water: homeowner, farmer or
industry as long as the water lies underneath their plot of
land.

63. • Rapidly growing economy and a large agricultural sector
stretch India’s supply of water even thinner.
• Meanwhile, India’s supply of water is rapidly dwindling
due primarily to mismanagement of water resources,
although over-pumping and pollution are also significant
contributors.
• India’s water crisis is predominantly a manmade
problem. India’s climate is not particularly dry, nor is it
lacking in rivers and groundwater.

64. Contd..
• Extremely poor management, unclear laws, government
corruption, and industrial and human waste have caused
this water supply crunch and rendered what water is
available practically useless due to the huge quantity of
pollution.
• In managing water resources, the Indian government
must balance competing demands between urban and
rural, rich and poor, the economy and the environment.
• It has been said that the next war occurs
mean, it is because of water.

65. Current water scarcity in India
Source: Adapted from
http://www.waterlink.net/assets/images/waterscarity2025.jpg

66. Ground Water Level Scenario
in India
• The ground water level data for January 2016 indicate
that out of the total 14974 wells analysed, 1371(9 %)
wells are showing water level less than 2 m bgl (metres
below ground level), 4958 (33%) wells are showing
water level in the depth range of 2-5 m bgl, 5342 (36 %)
wells are showing water level in the depth range of 5-10
m bgl, 2498 (17%) wells are showing water level in the
depth range of 10-20 m bgl, 607(4%) wells are showing
water level in the depth range of 20-40 m bgl and the
remaining 198 (1 %) wells are showing water level more
than 40 m bgl.

69. Rainfall
• In 610 of 641 districts for which data are available, 389
districts received normal or excess rain, while 221 received
“deficient” or “scanty” rain in the first three months of the
four-month-long monsoon season.
• This means September rainfall will now be important to
make up for these widespread deficits.
• Uneven rainfall
• Monsoon failure
• Flood
• Drought

75. • The state of Tamil Nadu, India, is in the grips of a water crisis,
with demand far outstripping supply.
• As the economy of the state grows, this crisis is going to
become ever more serious.
• Tamil Nadu has a population of 60 million people, of which 55%
are urbanized. The state is in the grips of a water crisis.
• Even though the total water potential of the state is about
46540 million m3 (MCM), water availability per capita is less
than 500m3 per capita per year, well below the 1000m3 figure
generally considered to signal “water scarcity”.

76. • Tamil Nadu accounts for 4 per cent of the land area and 6 per cent of
the population, but only 3 per cent of the water resources of the
country.
• The total surface water potential of the state is 36 km or 24864 M
cum. There are 17 major river basins in the State with 61 reservoirs
and about 41,948 tanks.
• Of the annual water potential of 46540 million cubic metres (MCM),
surface flows account for about half.
• Most of the surface water has already been tapped, primarily for
irrigation which is the largest user. 24lakh hectares are irrigated by
surface water through major, medium and minor schemes. The
utilisation of surface water for irrigation is about 90 per cent.

77. overview
• Severe water scarcity and droughts in the lower Cauvery Delta.
• Disputes between Tamil Nadu and the neighboring States of
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh and Kerala over the allocation
of inter-state water.
• Major problems in obtaining an adequate raw water supply for
Chennai City.
• Dramatic reductions in groundwater tables.
• Reduction in the storage capacity of the tank system to the tune
of 30%.
• Growing conflicts between different water using groups in the
state.
• Pollution threats to scarce water supplies.

79. Surface water contribution expected from
neighbouring states

80. Total sectoral demand (MCM)

83. Coca-Cola, Pepsi emerge victorious in
Tamil Nadu water war

85. • After the destruction caused by the last year’s flood, a part of
Cuddalore district is faced with a drought-like situation with
acute drinking water shortage and agriculture severely affected
and causing large scale unemployment.
• MAIN IMPACTS OF WATER SCARCITY
• FLOOD
• MONSOON FAILURE
• DROUGHT

86. Victory Chemicals was once booked for dumping
hazardous waste next to the Uppanar river.

87. GROUND WATER LEVEL
• The Ground Water levels from the 42 number of observation wells of TWAD
have been analysed for Post-Monsoon and Pre-Monsoon. Since 1991,
average Ground water level in m Below Ground Level for pre and post
monsoon is as follows

88. SUSTAINABLITY
• With a view to enhance the sustainability of the
drinking water sources, recharge structures are being
implemented by TWAD Board under various state and
central Government assistances.

89. Groundwater Potential as on
March 2011 (as per CGWB)
Certified Groundwater Professional (CGWP)
program
Net Groundwater Availability (in MCM) 1237.08
Existing Gross Groundwater draft for all
users (in MCM)
1066.76
Stage of Groundwater development (in %) 86
Categorization of District Semi Critical

90. The status of Categorization of Firkas as of March 2011 for the
District

112. REDUCING THE WATER
SCARCITY
• The water supply in India is going to be a serious
challenge due to various reasons.
• The most serious concern is the growing population
which is likely to increase to 1.66 billion by 2050.
• With the increasing population, the annual food
requirement in the country will exceed 250 million tons.

113. NATIONAL WATER POLICY
• India had revised the NWP in 2002 with the following
salient features (Government of India, 2009.
• Establishment of National and State level data banks to
monitor the demand and supply.
• Facilitation for transformation of available water
resources into utilizable water.
• Non-conventional methods for efficient water use.
• Supply of water from water surplus areas to water
shortage areas.

114. CONTD..
• Judicious allocation of water for different uses and
pricing of water to ensure sustainable development.
• Regulation on ground water exploitation and close
monitoring of water table using modern scientific
techniques.
• Sustainability of existing water bodies, involving all the
stakeholders and local communities.
• PPP for water resource development and distribution.
• Master plan for flood control, by linking different rivers
and promoting soil conservation measures.

115. NATIONAL WATER POLICY
• Agriculture Sector
– Improvement in water usage
efficiency.
– Adoption of rainwater harvesting
and watershed management
techniques.
– Reduction of subsidies on power
supply particularly for pumping
water.
– Prevention of ground water
exploitation by introducing
differential pricing, rewards and
punishments.
– Implementation of National River
Link project which aims to connect
30 rivers and canals to generates
175 trillion litres of water.
• Industrial Sector
– Encourage recycling and
treatment of industrial wastewater
through regulations and subsidies.
– Encourage introduction of new
technologies which consume less
water.

116. • Domestic Sector
– Introduction of a policy for mandatory rainwater harvesting in
cities.
– Propagation of efficient water usage.
– Creation of awareness about water conservation among
common public.
• Augmentation of Water Resources
• While the consumption of water in India will increase by over
50%, the supply will increase only by 5-10% during the next 12-
15 years.
• This will lead to water scarcity situation and most of the people,
particularly those who are dependent on agriculture and living in
poverty will suffer the most.

117. Increasing Water Storage
Capacity
• Activities such as farm ponds, percolation tanks, water reservoirs
and construction of small and medium size dams and rivers can
retain more surface water, while increasing the ground water
recharge.
• Invariably, 8-10 million ha are affected by floods over year.
• During the year 2007-08, floods in India have caused 3689
deaths, loss of 1.14 lakh livestock and damaged 3.5 million
houses, causing huge losses to the people, society and the
Government.
• One of the major reasons for soil erosion and silting of rivers is
severe deforestation.

118. Efficient Irrigation Practices
• Efficiency in irrigation is most essential, if the country wants to
face the challenge of water crisis.
• As most of the crops are watered through flood irrigation, over
70% of the water used for irrigation is wasted.
• Furthermore, as the water supplied is not measured, farmers
have a tendency to flood the field with excessive water without
any additional cost.
• Simultaneously, metered supply of irrigation water, recovery
of water cost, promotion of micro-irrigation systems and
involvement of water users’ group for water distribution would
significantly help in improving the water use efficiency and
reducing the cost of agricultural production.

119. Watershed Development
• Development of watersheds is an important programme
to make best use of the rainwater for agricultural
production while improving soil conservation and
biodiversity.
• Fortunately, the Government of India has given top
priority for watershed development to provide assured
water supply of agriculture in rain fed areas.
• Under the watershed development programme, the
catchment area of a basin is considered as a unit and
efforts are made to harness rainwater by treating the
land from the ridge to the valley

120. Control of Water Pollution
• Excessive use of water for agriculture, industries and
domestic uses is leading to water pollution, because
such excess water is transformed into saline water,
sewage or effluent.
• Thus, rewards and punishments should be introduced for
persuading people to make optimum use of the precious
water.
• This will help in keeping the water sources clean and
reducing the future demand for water.
• Treated sewage and effluent can be used for agriculture
and industrial production.

121. Desalination of Sea Water
• Over 70% of the global water resources being
saline, economic desalination of sea water is an
excellent option to meet the future shortage of
sweet water particularly to meet the human
consumption. Presently, desalination of sea
water is expensive and non-popular. However,
with solar power, desalination can be a viable
alternative to meet the water needs in coastal
areas.

122. Research and Development
• There is a need for investing in research related
to ground water monitoring, weather forecasting,
breeding water efficient and drought resistant
crops and varieties which can cope up with the
changing climatic conditions, arising due to
global warming.

123. Priority areas for Action
• The irrigation projects
• Afforestation on degraded forests.
• Increasing irrigation efficiency
• Development of wastelands
• Development of local capabilities
• Public Private Partnership
• Convergence of various developmental
programmes
• Review of the National Water Policy

126. RAIN WATER HARVESTING
• Rainwater harvesting is a technique of collection and
storage of rainwater into natural reservoirs or tanks, or
the infiltration of surface water into subsurface aquifers
(before it is lost as surface runoff)
• Improvement in infiltration and reduction in run-off.
• Improvement in groundwater levels and yields.
• Reduces strain on Special Village Panchayats/ Municipal
/ Municipal Corporation water supply
• Improvement in groundwater quality
• Reduction in infiltration and deterioration in water quality

132. YESTERDAY……

133. TODAY…….

135. TOMORROW????
• More than 4 million people died due to water related diseases.
• 98% of water related diseases occurred in developing
countries.
• In India alone, water born diseases cost the economy 73 million
working days per year.
• Global sales of bottled water account for over $60-$80 billion
each year.
• A child dies of water born diseases about every 15 Seconds.

136. TOMORROW????