Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources

XIII Triennial Conference of the Indian Women Scientists’ Association on

“Sustainable Development in India: Role of Science and Technology”

December 3rd, 2016, Vashi, Navi Mubai

The Flow

• Water– Green, Blue and Grey

• Global Perspectives – Developed Countries

– Water for food

• TERI’s initiatives

Hydrological Cycle

Water harvesting has been an age old techniqueExamples from India:

• 10th century AD Chandragiri Fort in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

• A community well created by Agrasen in Delhi• One of the oldest water harvesting systems is found about

130 km from Pune along Naneghat in the Western Ghats.

There is an evidence of 9000 year old water harvesting system in the mountains of Southern Jordan.

Global Perspectives Developed Countries

IWRM (Integrated Water Resource Management)

The basics of integration

Water footprint per capita

Competing freshwater uses

Water for Food

Water for food

Source: http://www.simplesteps.org/photo-essays/how-much-water-does-your-food-consume

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

4000

4500

Tea Apple Beer Coffee Wheat Chicken Beef

30

7075 140

1300

3900

15500

Qu

an

tity

of

wa

ter

in l

itre

s

(Wheat, Chicken & Beef in kg)

• Pathardi is the remote tribal village in Mokhada

block of Palghar district, Maharashtra, India with

partial electric supply.

• Accessibility, quality and quantity of water is a

great challenge especially during dry summer

months.

• Women daily fetch more than 80 lit of water per

family from an average distance of 1.5 km, thus

suffering from immense physical stress.

• Scarcity of water and stress discourages them to

cultivate vegetables in their backyard for self-

consumption

• This is one of the major reasons of severe

malnourishment.

Challenges faced by the communities of Pathardi

Women travel long distance

to fetch water

Construction of Man-made Wetland to recycle grey water

The concept of Manmade-wetland was introduced effectively through

installation of grey-water treatment system at household level.

Achieved benefits:

• Making water available for

growing veggies evenduring the dry season.

• Provide water for

secondary purposes.

• Minimize the trips of

fetching water for

secondary purposes.

• The requirement of

fetching water was

reduced by 40%.

Women carrying liters of water for

the family.

Food grown in the backyard -A sustainable initiative

Global Perspectives

Water footprint (m3/cap/y)

Including agriculture, industry & domestic

Water self-sufficiency vs. Water import dependent

Aral Sea: the shrinking sea

• Bordering Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan

• Formerly one of the four largest lakes (68,000 sq. km)

• Diversion of the water supply led to its shrinkage

• Increase in socio-economic and environmental problems

"one of the planet's worst environmental disasters"

1980 1990 2008

Matrix- Water Resource AssessmentRisks Impacts

Vulnerabilities

Govt. InterventionsAdaptation Strategies

Increased precipitati

on (10-40%)

1. Increased

surface runoff

in some partsof the State

2.Increa

sed soil

erosion

1. Loss of top soil and hence

decreased fertility

1. Vegetative Filter Strip in place of diversion drain 2. Vegetative Contour Hedges with Furrows 3. Gully Control Measures 4. Continuous Contour Trench 5. Pasture Development 6. Forestation 7. Tree Plantation along with nalabank8. Contour Vegetative Hedges (4% Sloppy Land) 9. Contour Vegetative Hedges Supported by Trenches, Ditches, bund (4-8% Sloppy Land)10. Repairs of Existing Conservation Measures Built by Farmers 11. Contour Dead Furrows 12. Contour Cultivation

Increased use of soil

conservation techniques2. Increased

siltation in water

reservoirs

Matrix- Water Resource Assessment

Risks Impacts Vulnerabil

itiesGovt. Interventions

Adaptation

Strategies

Increased temperatur

es (min, max, mean)

Increased rate of evapo-

transpiration

1. Decreased soil moisture

1. Shivkalin Water Harvesting Scheme2. State Accelerated Watershed Development Programme3. Marathwada and VidharbhaWatershed Development Missions4. Artificial Groundwater Recharge Scheme5. National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas6. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Increase the number

of rainwater harvesting measures

2. Increase the crop

water requirement

3. Decreased water

availability

Actions Proposed

• Promote IWRM practices – enhance storage

• Focus on;

1.Wetlands and buffer zones

2.Renaturalization of water bodies by

establishing Riparian Zones

3.Rejuvenation and Restoration of Common

Property Resources with a focus on Water

4.Enhanced ground water recharge through

emphasis on artificial recharge and rain

water harvesting

5.Promotion of water efficient technologies

• Scarcity/limited resources

• Depletion of ground water

• Capacities of dams/ reservoirs

• Trans boundary • Poor maintenance• Siltation• Vulnerable to climate

change

• Leakages• Outdated pipes• Outburst of pipes • Unmetered

distribution• Trans boundary

• Over extraction• Poor maintenance

• Untreated disposal of waste water

Sources DisposalDistribution Consumers

Integrated Water Resource Management

Recommendations for the wetlands management

• To integrate wetlands in the overall water resource management plan.

• To develop single window apex body for conservation of wetland.

• To clearly define the rules and regulations for wetland conservation and the surrounding areas.

• To develop sustainable revenue-generation models for local/ dependent communities.

• To develop a white paper/ policy paper on the status of wetlands in Maharashtra especially the drought prone areas like Marathwada.

• To build capacity through imparting training to various stakeholders and government officials on wetland management.

• To identify sites for dumping of waste in wetlands to avoid turning of wetlands into wastelands.

Climatic Impacts on the Coastal Region

Result of Step 1: 1. Coastal impacts assessment (MMR region) - Sea Level Rise (SLR)

Observations

- AVISO (satellite)- PSMSL (Tide Gauge)

Time series of MSL (in cm) averaged over the two regions using a 10point smooth filter

Time series of monthly MSL (cm) from 1878 and 2006 over Mumbai tidal station, using a 10point smooth filter.

Past records indicate an increase in SLR of 0.13-2 cm

Out of 15 models, 9 models were selected which had over 30 years of data available.

Due to the coarse global model resolution ~300km, Krigging methodology applied to interpolate the data onto 1degree or 100km resolution, bringing closer to the coast

Projections indicate an increase in SLR of 2 cm by 2050s and 4 cm by 2100

2. High Tide Level (HTL) –MMR

Year

Highest

rainfall

in mm

Date of

highest

rainfall

Station

High tide

level in

mtrs

Time of

high tidePost Event Headlines in Media

2005 944.2 7/27/2005Santacruz,

Mumbai

3.7 4:13 AM Rains wreak havoc in Mumbai; 150 killed in Konkan4.1 4:16 PM

2006 231 7/5/2006Santacruz,

Mumbai

3.1 7:05 AM Heavy rains lash Mumbai, schools remain close

Rain causes havoc in Mumbai, 24 killed3.4 6:15 PM

2008 249.7 7/28/2008Colaba,

Mumbai

3.7 8:17 AM Wet weekend spells good news for lake levelsWaterlogging, during the high tide in the

afternoon, was reported.3.4 7:24 PM

2009 439.1 7/16/2009Dahanu,

Thane

3.45:51 AM

Heavy rains lashed the city

3.6 5:20 PM

2010 236 6/24/2010Dahanu,

Thane

4.2 10:56 AM The city also witnessed waterlogging and wall

collapses in several areas following the

downpour3.5 10:22 PM

2011 232.68/29/2011

(New Moon)

Santacruz,

Mumbai4.7 11:58 AM

Mumbai weather: Incessant rainfall leaves city in deep water

Flooding in selected coastal locations

Validation of Flood simulation with Observations of flooded area as reported by the National Institute of Disaster Management

Thank you