Most river basins in India are under duress, and stand in the mortal danger of moving to the "extremely high" level of baseline water stress. Though India does not figure in the list of 37 countries which face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress, using more than 80 percent of their available water supply every year, it is close enough at 41 position, according to the first-ever global water stress rankings.
The rankings, created by the US-based World Resource Institute's Aqueduct team and released on Friday, have placed the Sabarmati river basin at the sixth position among the 100 most populous river basins in the world in terms of water stress. With a risk score of 4.83 (out of 5), agricultural, domestic and industrial users in the Sabarmati region are guzzling up roughly 90 per cent of the river's water supply.
The WRI project evaluated, mapped, and scored water risks like these in 100 river basins, ranked by area and population, and 181 nations—the first such country-level water assessment of its kind. Seventeen countries, including Bahrain, Barbados, Jamaica, Malta and Qatar, share the top spot with stress levels of 5.0.
The more that water is withdrawn annually by agricultural, domestic, and industrial users means farms and communities in the area become vulnerable to scarcity.
Baseline water stress measures how much water is withdrawn every year from rivers, streams, and shallow aquifers for domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses. Scores above 4 indicate that, for the average water user, more than 80 percent of the water available is withdrawn annually. So, companies, farms, and residents are highly dependent on limited amounts of water and vulnerable to the slightest change in supply. Such situations severely threaten national water security and economic growth — especially if a country does not have adequate water-management plans in place.
The other river basin systems of India under duress are: Cauvery with a score of 3.57 and rank of 20; Penner with 3.53 and 24; Mahi with 3.52 and 25; Ganga-Brahmaputra with 3.39 and 29; Krishna with 3.08 and 34. The riverine systems that are still safe are Tapti with 2.81 and 36; Godavari with 2.51 and 41; Damodar with 2.26 and 47; Mahanadi with 1.66 and 60; Rupnarayan with 1.46 and 64; Subarnarekha with 1.09 and 67.
A cause for worry?
Extremely high levels of baseline water stress, the study authors wrote in a blog post, don’t necessarily mean that a country will fall victim to scarcity. "Armed with the right information, countries facing extremely high stress can implement management and conservation strategies to secure their water supplies. Singapore has the highest water stress ranking (5.0). The country is densely populated and has no freshwater lakes or aquifers, and its demand for water far exceeds its naturally occurring supply."
"Yet, Singapore is consistently projected as an exceptional water manager, since the country invests heavily in technology, international agreements, and responsible management, allowing it to meet its freshwater needs," the researchers argued.
