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Many nations have implemented policies to improve drinking water quality, but challenges arise from overexploited or contaminated groundwater-based sources. This paper aims at examining the aspects of water scarcity, security, and sustainability within an Indian village context. We attempt to compare two rural water supply sources in Nagla Chandi village in Uttar Pradesh, India: (a) untreated groundwater sourced from bore wells and (b) treated water from a reverse osmosis (RO) plant. We observed that subterranean minerals are the primary pollutants of unprocessed water drawn from borewells, which form the main source of drinking water. Even though water from the RO plant meets all the quality parameters of potability, frequent breakdowns of the plant due to improper management force the villagers to drink untreated water from the dug wells fitted with hand pumps, affecting their health. We also found a high incidence of water-borne diseases. The case analysis suggests enhancing village water treatment projects by training local artisans in system repair and increasing Panchayat staff to include trained engineers for technical advice and maintenance. The paper proposes reducing water testing cost in rural areas to make it possible Q4 for local organizations to regularly assess water quality and implement corrective actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Swachh Bharat Mission-Rural (SBM-R) is a flagship programme aimed at ending open defecation in rural India. In this paper, we study institutions and processes using Amartya Sen's conception of justice. We review the outcomes by assessing agencies, actions and processes involved in the implementation of the SBM-R programme. The findings are analysed using the Sanitation Well-being Framework. Sanitation well-being is achieved when an individual is able to experience the sanitation life cycle stages of acceptance, construction, utilisation and maintenance of safe disposal, which are part of the framework. The capability factors grouped under personal, cultural, structural, environmental and service elements of the framework determine the sanitation environment facilitated by the state. Failure in experiencing one of the life stages leads to slippage in sanitation, where people resume open defecation, despite possessing toilets. The paper presents a review of literature on the political, technological and structural issues in programme implementation, followed by an analysis of 42 interviews and 12 focused group discussions of state and non-state actors conducted in rural Shravasti, Uttar Pradesh, India. We found that slippage is prevalent in the field site and identified 26 capability factors (expansion and constraints) that led to slippage in sanitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper farmers’ resilience index (FRI) was constructed considering the natural disaster using five dimensions including physical, social, economic, human and natural. The scale is administered to the 240 paddy farmers in two coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Principal component analysis was performed in order to fix the weightage for each variable. About (39.58%) of farmers are resilient to natural disasters with the highest resilience score for financial capital (0.641) and natural capital with less resilience score (0.401). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine how well the generated model of the scale fits the data. The structural equation modelling (SEM) path diagram was developed based on the conceptual model, which uses resilience as a latent variable. The SEM analysis revealed that four dimensions of capital positively affect farmers’ resilience except for the human capital which negatively affects resilience. To reduce the effects of natural catastrophes in the upcoming years, the adaptation strategies from the highly resilient places can be examined and put into practice in the less resilient areas. It is imperative that development programmes at all levels incorporate climate awareness and stakeholder capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DRASTIC method's vulnerability assessment for estimating the potential risk of contamination in shallow groundwater aquifers is the most acceptable technique. The method uses seven parameters, namely, depth to groundwater table, net recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, land use and land cover, and hydraulic conductivity to obtain vulnerability index values. These index values are validated with one or a few elements of water characteristics as pollution indicators. In most of the reported studies, the correlation coefficient between the DRASTIC index and the concentration of individual element(s) was low. The present study uses the water quality index (WQI) to correlate with the DRASTIC index value. In this paper, 11 physical and chemical water characteristics data of 31 well locations within the Faridabad District of Haryana, India are utilized to estimate the WQI. The correlation coefficients for single element concentration with DRASTIC index vary between the range of 0.104 to 0.304. The correlation coefficients for the concentration of NO3 - and WQI are found to be 0.104 and 0.533, respectively. Thus, the DRASTIC index demonstrates a stronger correlation with the WQI when compared to single element concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a survey of selected Water Users' Associations (WUA) and their members in West Bengal, India, this paper examines the nature and determinants of member participation in irrigation management. WUA meetings were held on a regular basis with higher member participation under Tube Well, Check Dam and River Lift Irrigation schemes. Their physical characteristics (e.g., high sub-surface storage and flowing rivers with large catchment areas) and system features (e.g., centralized pump house and defined distribution infrastructure) contribute to better water availability, incentivizing the members to participate. Our regression analysis suggests that along with these factors, the socioeconomic attributes of members and their perception about the functioning and decision making of the WUA influence participation in the collective management of schemes. The more the members perceive the functioning of WUAs as democratic and transparent, the greater is their incentive to participate. Greater participatory involvement of the members in the form of donating land for irrigation construction and in training programs is also found to be crucial. So, this paper argues for making the decision-making processes within WUAs democratic and transparent, along with greater efforts toward capacity building of the members, including training for skill enhancement, management and provision of agricultural support practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to improved drinking water and sanitation has been declared a fundamental right by the UN General Assembly. However, around 25 and 50% of the global population lacked access to safely managed drinking water and improved sanitation in 2020, respectively. India, the second most populous country in the world, has around 3.7 and 31% of its population without access to improved drinking water and sanitation, respectively. This paper explores the factors determining a household’s access to improved drinking water and sanitation in India, using India Human Development Survey (IHDS) II data. The results indicate that urban households with bigger family sizes, with fewer rooms, married but uneducated household heads, belonging to forward castes, were more likely to have access to improved drinking water. Similarly, households with married female heads, belonging to forward castes, small household sizes, older aged heads with primary education, from Non-EAG (Empowered Action Group) states, located in urban areas, earning higher incomes and having more rooms were more likely to have access to improved sanitation. Findings suggest subsidized improved water and sanitation services and an increase in public investment to make these facilities affordable for poor rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing population and per capita demand for freshwater, the burden of natural resources has increased many folds. Indian agriculture is still largely dependent on conventional methods of crop production that are mainly inefficient. Water security is essential for social and economic development, having an indispensable role in enhancing health, well-being, and economic progress, particularly in a developing country like India. Water footprint (WF) is an important indicator that helps ascertain the direct and indirect use of water in any process. WF modeling in agriculture enables us to pinpoint the impacts and limitations of the current crop production system. Assessing vulnerabilities across various regions and time helps us prepare actions to improve water productivity and promote sustainable water use. There is considerable spatial variability in blue, green, and gray WF among the different states of India due to their varied climate, soil, and topographic characteristics. WF assessment is critical for developing water allocation strategies, planning water trade, making policies, and implementing remedial measures. This paper describes the significance of WF and its proper management for sustainable crop production in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The groundwater recharge area is one of the crucial components in regional development. Many studies in determining groundwater recharge areas with a combination of Geographic Information System and Multi-criteria Decision Analysis have been carried out. The development of studies over the last ten years is reviewed in this paper using the PRISMA systematic review method to find out the study’s progress. A total of 31 studies were found in the previous ten years based on the review results. Information about the country of origin of the study, dominant geology, climatic conditions, criteria used, decision-making and weighting methods, and the validation process for each study were extracted. The results show 12 countries researching this topic, with five dominant geological classes and nine classes of climatic conditions, and 33 criteria are used in the 2011–2021 range with eight dominant criteria used. Four decision rules and the weighted method are used, and a validation process is commonly used with well data. From systematic review and meta-analysis, we conclude: India has become the country that has most researched this topic. Hard-rock-class geology is dominant and arid and semi-arid climate conditions have become the main focus of studies. The variability of criteria is up to 33 with 18 criteria still used only once in each study, and eight dominant criteria have been used. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Multiple Influence Factor (MIF) have become the most-used methods for assigned weight, and Frequency Ratio (FR) is the newest method for assigned weight. Lithology has the highest weight compared with the other seven dominant criteria, and well data has become the most common data for verification of groundwater recharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provisioning of water and sanitation services has become one of the key determinants of SDGs. This review focuses on the trends in water and sanitation services and reforms in India and Ghana over the last two decades. The findings reveal that access to water has improved in India and Ghana at 81.5 and 92.7%, respectively. However, access to sanitation continues to be a challenge in both countries, with the currently reported coverage being 59.5% and 18.5%, respectively. The index of sustainable development goal (SDG) performance of Ghana and India stands at 65.4 and 61.9 with global rankings of 100 and 117, respectively. The adverse impacts of poor access to sanitation increasingly reflect on rising numbers of population suffering from water-borne diseases. From the policy perspective, the paper highlights the need for framing pro-poor water and sanitation policies; focusing on women and girls' education; promoting affordable water and sanitation services; promoting collaboration of stakeholders involved in the rural water and sanitation sectors; and increasing budgetary allocations by local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequent droughts, growing water demand, and the ease of accessing groundwater, particularly through boreholes, have led to an over-dependence on groundwater to meet notably agricultural demands in India. This has led the Watershed Organisation Trust (WOTR) to motivate and capacitate rural communities for 'water stewardship' in which the village as a whole comes together to learn about its resources to manage them better. However, improving the management of the water resource is challenging as the general perception is that the water found below one's farm belongs to the landowner. Moreover, what is below the surface is not visible, therefore not well understood. Thus, WOTR designed a water stewardship initiative (WSI) with the Community-Driven Visual Integrator (CoDriVE-VI or CDVI) as one of the important tools; it produces an operational 3D map of the local aquifer. WOTR implemented the WSI in villages in Maharashtra, India. This paper evaluates the impacts and potential of the WSI and CDVI. We observed that the visual effect of these 3D models of aquifers helps local communities and farmers better understand and appreciate groundwater as a shared resource. This tool is effective in promoting water stewardship, achieving behavioural change in water users, and helping implement groundwater laws and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Munroe Island in Kollam District of Kerala is a typical backwater village situated at the confluence of the Ashtamudi backwater and the Kallada River system. It is an amalgamation of eight small islands with a total area of 13.4 km². Salinity intrusion has been a serious threat in the downstream areas of Kallada River for more than one and half decades, affecting the groundwater quality of Munroe Island. The present study focuses on the seasonal variation in physico-chemical characteristics of the underground water system of Munroe Island and Kallada River with special reference to saline water intrusion. Physico-chemical analysis of ground water revealed that samples were unsuitable for drinking due to higher content of Na, Ca, and K. Microbiological analysis of island groundwater showed the presence of coliform and E. coli bacteria above the permissible limit. Results indicated a significant correlation between salinity and major anions viz., Cl- and SO4² and cations viz., Mg, Na, Ca, and K of both river surface and island groundwater. In the present study it is clearly evident the occurrence of saltwater intrusion in Kallada River from Ashtamudy Lake and the its severity become higher during premonsoon season. The results also indicated that the salinity increase in Kallada River has a negative impact on island groundwater quality. The paper also suggests suitable management strategies for overcoming the saltwater intrusion thereby upgrading island sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About 3,500 small community based reverse osmosis (RO) plants have been installed in Rajasthan, India to comply with the recent Government of India guidelines for drinking water quality in rural areas. This paper presents the performance of four RO plants of Bharatpur, which face frequent replacement of membrane modules primarily due to accelerated scaling of carbonates and sulphates of calcium. A detailed chemical analysis of different streams from these plants was carried out to assess the reasons of scaling through a mass balance approach. The chemical analysis was substantiated through ion balance and the scaling potentials were analysed through different saturation indices. Efficacy of antiscalant usage plants was further assessed through mass balance approach followed by detailed characterization of the RO membrane to understand the complete fouling process, which brought out subtle differences in brackish and seawater desalination. The membranes adopting commonly used antiscalant showed an enhanced life span of 2-2.5 year by reducing calcium carbonate scaling but not calcium sulphate scaling. This study highlights the requirement of customized antiscalant application according to the feed characteristics. With a better understanding of the fouling phenomenon, this study would help enhance the life of membrane in RO plants treating brackish water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based framework for estimating the flood vulnerabilities in river basins. The methodology has been exemplified for the 21 districts of the Narmada river basin in central India. Sensitivity and adaptive capacity indicators have been identified and used for the development of the Flood Vulnerability Index (FVI). DEA-based study was employed to assess the Scale Efficiencies and the Returns to Scale and insights drawn from the analysis have been discussed in the context of policy and planning related to reduction of flood vulnerabilities. Cluster analysis has also been deployed to classify districts in terms of flood vulnerabilities. Results from the flood vulnerability assessment model case study indicate that 76% of the districts in the Narmada river basin remain highly vulnerable to flood-risk, while the socio-economic parameters and physical sizes of districts and their resources play a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]