Drinking and other Domestic Uses

These protocols are suggestive in nature and will be useful for laboratory personnel, water supply engineers and policy makers working in the drinking water sector operating at State, District and Sub-district levels.

Budget 2013: Highlights from the water sector

As a result of rapid urbanisation, majority of migrated population is forced to settle in places which are not legally recognised by state authorities. These areas thus lack in basic services like water supply and sewerage. Consequently, the slum dwellers often resort to illegal methods to avail these services.

The report released at UNDP, New Delhi on February 14, 2013 attempts to consolidate the significant amounts of information available on water and sanitation in India and also aims to examine the key current challenges in the sector; both the threats and opportunities for the water sector in India.

Dr Aidan Cronin, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, UNICEF gives a sneak preview to the report

Video courtesy: UNICEF

Kerala is a rain blessed state in the country. It has highest  number of wells, when compared with other states. However due to its slanting topography there is significant decline in the ground water levels leading to severe water scarcity during summer months in most districts of the state. Further over extraction and dependence of groundwater for domestic use from the dug wells especially in rural pockets has resulted in several groundwater problems. In this backdrop the paper in  The Ecosan- An International Quarterly Journal of Environmental Science, sheds light on groundwater quality issues in two panchayats of Kerala.

Groundwater is essential for India's agricutural economy. However, there is a large variation in the groundwater resources of each region. Some regions are already over-exploited, while others can still tolerate more withdrawal. In her blog 'Waterscapes', Aditi Mukherji discusses the need for regional strategies to manage groundwater economy.