Assessment of Fresh Water Availability and Demand in the

Sundarban Biosphere Area of Indian Bengal Delta

Freshwater is a scarce resource in the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve

(SBR) area (19 blocks) of Indian Bengal Delta though it is

traversed by numerous creeks and rivulets and receives a huge

amount of precipitation during monsoon.

Most of the rivers have lost their connections with their parent river.

The rivers are mostly saline in Sundarban. The groundwater is also

saline in shallow aquifers. Fresh groundwater is only available at a

depth of >250 metres (Sinha Ray, 2010).

Scarcity of upstream fresh water, high soil and water salinity, saline

ground water make it very difficult for the people to secure their

livelihood. The present paper identifies the water related problems

and assesses sectoral water demand and availability in SBR.

Annual Water Availability Available water from Deep

Tube Well (DTW) in Sundarban

is 8.08 mcm that is used to meet

the drinking water demand.

Over 70000 freshwater tanks

and around 8000 Shallow Tube

Wells (STW) are the major

sources of irrigation in

Sundarban.

The STWs have a potential to

supply 386.59mcm water during

Rabi and summer cultivation

whereas 43.02 mcm and 9.21

mcm water are available from

tanks and canals.Data Source: Govt. of W.B., 2010

CGWB (2007) Manual on Artificial Recharge of Ground Water, Govt. of India

CIFRI (1998) Annual Report, Central Inland Fisheries research Institution, Govt. of India

Govt. of India (2011) Population Census 2011, Primary Census Abstract, North & South 24 Parganas District, West Bengal

Govt. of W.B. (2010) District Statistical Handbook 2009-10 combined, South & North 24parganas. Bureau of Applied Economics & Statistics

Rudra, K. (2009) A State of Environment Report on “Water Resource and Its Quality in West Bengal”, West Bengal Pollution Control Board

Rudra, K. (2012) Atlas of Changing River Courses in West Bengal. Sea Explorers' Institute, Kolkata, p 132

Sinha Ray, S.P. (2010)Status of Ground Water Condition in Sundarban area, West Bengal. Commissioned report, WWF-India

Unavailability of fresh water

restricts food production which

endangers the food security of

87.5% of the people.

-50-250

5025

Excess/deficit water for Winter & Summer cultivation

-50-250

+50+25

Rainwater Harvesting Potential in Sundarban

• Rejuvenation/re-connection of disconnected river

• Large scale rainwater harvesting (closure dam)

• Roof-Top rain water harvesting (45mcm)

• Expansion of irrigation network

• Deepening of existing ponds

• Artificial recharge within shallow aquifer

• De-salinization of saline ground water.

Some of the major policy options to

meet the water demand in Sundarban

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References

Tuhin Bhadra and Sugata Hazra (School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India)

The annual drinking &

domestic water demand in

Sundarban blocks are 8.08 mcm

and 105.1 mcm.

The water requirement for the

Winter & Summer cultivation is

641.25 mcm, whereas 2141.58

mcm for Monsoon cultivation.

The water demand for

agriculture is highest in July (902

mcm) and lowest in April (1.22

mcm).

The total annual water demand

in the 19 blocks of Sundarban is

2895.92 mcm.

Annual Water Demand

Data Source: Govt. of India, 2011, Govt. of W.B., 2010, Rudra, K., 2009

Winter & SummerMonsoon

A B

Diamond Harbour

Canning

Gosaba

Basanti

Jotisrampur

NimpithMandir Bazar

Horizontal Scale

0 20 Km

Verticel Scale

0 300m

Saline

Fresh

Clay

Saline

Fresh

Clay

Clay

Saline Ground Water

05

10152025303540

Non-Monsoon Highest Monsoon Lowest

Seasonal changes in Salinity (ppt)

Data Source: CIFRI, 1998

So

urc

e: S

inh

aR

oy,

S.P

., 2

01

0

A B

Disconnected River Network

A B

River Network has been modified after, Rudra, K.,2012

Gosaba

Nimpith

Sundarban Biosphere

Reserve, India(9630 km2)

Reserve Forest (4263 km2) 30 Blocks

Transitional Zone (5367 km2)

19 Blocks

Core Area(1700 km2)

Buffer Area (2563 km2)

Location