70% Of India's Irrigation Water Comes From Unsustainable Aquifer Depletion

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The situation has been exacerbated by what seemed like a great idea at the time to meet India's burgeoning water needs -- drilling deep into the earth to get to supplies far below the ground. The programme, begun in the 1960s, was at first a great success and revolutionised access to water in the hard rock areas which make up four-fifths of India's landmass, bringing supplies to millions of households.

But the success also bred abuse as high-speed drilling technology, spurred by free power to farmers given by vote-hungry politicians, was used for irrigation for crops needed to feed India's ever-growing population and a focus on water-thirsty cash crops. "The emphasis on mass irrigation set India on the path of unsustainable water resources management," says Black.

Now some 70 percent of India's irrigation water and 80 percent of its domestic water supplies come from groundwater rather than from surface water, according to the World Bank. In a report late last year, the Bank said that India has no proper water management system, its groundwater is disappearing and river bodies are turning into sewers. "Estimates reveal that by 2020, India's demand for water will exceed supply," it said. The Centre for Science and Environment said in parts of New Delhi the groundwater level was dropping by 10 meters (33 feet) each year.

"The monsoon not only fills rivers and streams but as rainfall seeps into the soil it recharges the underground aquifers," says Black. But "the exploitation of the resource has taken place at a speed which does not allow time for the water table to recoup its losses". Where once a depth of 10 metres (33 feet) was enough for a plentiful supply, a depth of 80 to 100 metres may now be needed. In many areas the uptake of groundwater has crossed the limit imposed by natural rates of renewal. "In many parts of the country, it (the water problem) is now irreversible," says Rupert Talbot, a water consultant with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "You can go to parts where they are drilling so deep that they are mining fossil water that is 20,000 years old. It will never be recharged (by rains)."

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http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Water_Crisis_Looms_In_India_As_Drilling_Depletes_Resources.html

clean, safe, water; We die.

70% of irrigation, 80% of household water - I had no idea it was that high.

The numbers and statistics were extremely alarming. We are running out of clean safe drinking water right here in our very own country. States are suing other states for water rights. Rivers are polluted. People are discouraged from eating salmon more than twice a month due to toxins and mercury levels. Our very survival depends on water. Pollution and environmental changes, as well as irrigation practices are bringing us to a crisis sooner than people realize. I wish I could remember this guys name, he was a terrific speaker.

China's not far behind. They've lost thousands of small lakes in Northern China, thanks to China's tremendous hunger for beef). This has lead many people to speculate that China might someday try to appropriate Southeastern Russia.

Water, like all non-labor produced (natural) wealth, should be shared. Unlike labor-produced wealth, sharing such wealth doesn't decrease the total amount produced: it is either produced naturally or it isn't produced at all.

One method of 'sharing' such commonwealth would be allow each resident unlimited access to the resource, a recipe for resource depletion and an exacerbation of "Them that has, gets".

One method of 'sharing' would be to allot each resident of a rainfall cachement area an equal share of the annual rainfall, or some other sustainable amount. Practically, this would be very difficult.

For the net same effect, the governments of an aquifer or drainage basin could auction off limited (in scope and duration) water rights - in other words, get top dollar from the highest bidders for exclusive access to such rights. This revenue is then shared, fairly equally, amongst all residents, through government services or direct credits. What about the poor, how would they afford water? Simple, they'd buy it, either through their government, or using their credits from those who have the leases.

This may seem more convoluted than it is. First off, without long term ownership, there is no speculative gain to be had in bidding on water rights, so the bidders would only bid on what they could use or sell. Local utilities might bid on enough for their customers - and with the people having credits (or directing their government to subsidize drinking water with the revenue raised by selling water rights) they'd have more than enough money to purchase drinking & sanitation water from the leaseholders. The people who lose out in such a situation are those who currenlty used 'more than their fair share' of water, typically farmers of certain water-intensive crops, usually grown for export or for feed. Instead of growing these unsustainable crops, the market for water would direct the development of sustainable cropping systems. Furthermore, the 'Monopoly Privilege' would be held by the public, not private corporations, though private corporations might compete to make their water leaseholds more profitable : e.g. more efficiently used.

of India.

I don't have the stats handy but they are in the process of draining away much of the water in entire regions of India.

water shortages are always about farming

for the small, in comparison, amount of water needed for cities,
the water could easily be made from seawater.

the issue is always, farmers are trying to screw city people.
such as, getting city people to fight their wars for them

the farmer wants somebody else to fight in a war,
so he can grow strawberries in a desert

...to desalinise billions of litres a day and pipe it up a thousand miles away doesn't strike you as slightly tricky?

of course, nobody ever says that

This is my opinion.
concerning stories about water, the news media
always omit certain facts, that leaves the reader
with an incomplete and false idea of what the issues are.

Consider the western US.
a century ago, farmers aka 'irrigation districts',
were given water rights in perpetuity.
Cities just can't 'outbid' farmers for the water.

nowadays, water can be made from seawater for,
from a total city view of cost, is essentially a
small part of the total end cost to the individual user.

a city can easily pay USD 700 an acre-foot, and
not even notice it.
a billionaire strawberry farmer, will be put out of business,
if the cost to him goes from USD 50 to 200, an acre-foot.

is it fair to a poor person in the city,
to force him to carry this slight burden

the cities can easily pay the cost, but at the expense
of unjustly enriching the farmer.

city people are too stupid to know they are being taken.
newspapers always side with the billionaires

the 'different pricing', is never mentioned.
I assume something comparable is going on pretty much everywhere.

the issue is always, a special interest group, is trying to hide

...I'm assuming there's already local infrastructure in place. If not, then you're right - it's going to get really expensive.

Good points about the US water rights. They're pretty fucked up - a bit like the mining rights, come to think of it. It seems to be a mainly US thing (in my limited knowledge) that you can own the land (ie soil) but not the water/gold/oil underneath it. Weird if you ask me... :)

And of course newspapers like the billionaires. Who'd ya think owns them?!

de-salt seawater, 53 cents per cubic meter, 264 gallons
http://www.water-technology.net/projects/israel/

.........
in India, part of the issue is,
the whole country building water projects,
beyond that neede for cities,
finatially benefitting farmers

Bookmarked - nice to pin a cost on it.

$539k per billion litres, wwt. my original. Still a bit steep, but could be worse... :)