| Abstrakt: |
Climate change, along with urbanization and population growth, has escalated issues related to floods, droughts, water scarcity, and water quality. The Global Water Institute, in 2013, estimated that approximately 700 million people in 43 different countries were facing water stress and scarcity. In India, pollution of water resources and increased demand and consumption has been one of the major factors behind water insecurities. The research aims to understand water security in urban India and measures to augment water security. The objectives of the research are to understand the impact of the over-extraction of groundwater in urban areas and identification of suitable nature-based solutions to overcome the impending scarcity of groundwater resources. Descriptive analysis has been conducted to assess the dependence on surface and groundwater in 2 Indian cities, i.e., Delhi and Ranchi. The selected cities have different surface water sources; in the case of Delhi, water is supplied from River Yamuna, Ganga, and Bhakra storage, whereas in the case of Ranchi, water is supplied from 3 dams (Getalsud dam, Kanke dam, and Dhurwa Dam). In both cities, a certain percentage of water demand is fulfilled from these surface water sources, and the remaining water requirement is dependent on groundwater. Nature-based solutions (NBS) or Natural water retention measures (NWRM) can prove to be a helpful tools in recharging and improving the groundwater table. NBS / NWRM can also help in the mitigation of flood risk and further contribute to the preparation of catchment management plans and river basin management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
