*Tata Energy

Research Institute
(TERI), India
Habitat Centre,
Lodhi Road, New
Delhi 110 003,
India

Kapil K Narula*, Frank Wendland**, D D Bhujanga Rao*, and

N K Bansal***

Water resources development in the Yamuna

river basin in India

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Abstract The paper makes an attempt to address the emerging concerns regarding water resources sustainability through a case
study for a large river basin in India using an area-wide
approach. An assessment of water resources development in
the Yamuna river basin, catchment area of c. 346 000 km2, has
been conducted by evaluating present and future water availability. The assessment of present water availability is done by
an area-wide analysis of surface and groundwater quantity and
quality, backed by data from various Indian governmental water
agencies. Based on this analysis, three relevant water
sustainability indicators have been identified for the basin and
acute water stress areas have been delineated. Analysis shows
that out of 80 districts in the basin, at present 20 districts face
high water stress caused either due to depletion in water quantity or deterioration in water quality. A water development scenario is discussed, which examines the prospects for water
sustainability in the year 2025 assuming business-as-usual.
The scenario concludes that by the year 2025 the number of
water-stressed districts will rise to approximately 40. Finally,
options for shifting to a sustainable water resource management path in the Yamuna basin are suggested.

Note The research reported in this paper formed a part of the doctoral work of Kapil K Narula pursued at the
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
** Frank Wendland, Forschungszentrum Juelich (FZJ), System Analysis and Technology Evaluation (STE),
D 52425, Juelich, Germany
*** N K Bansal, Professor, CES, IIT Delhi, India

22

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

Framework and objectives of

the study
The mobilization of fresh water resources for
human use has grown rapidly in India, closely
tied to the industrial and green revolutions,
which ushered in a period of unprecedented
growth in population, consumption, and resource use. The industrial and agricultural intensification strategies on one hand have had
a very positive impact on the economy and food
grain production in India, but on the other have
led to emerging water availability problems due
to deterioration in quality, and depletion in
quantity. While over-exploitation of
groundwater has become a serious problem
for many states, surface water is being increasingly polluted and utilized inefficiently
throughout India.The imbalances and anomalies that are emerging shed doubt on the longterm availability of water resources.
In the framework of a national research programme on the economical and ecological development of India since independence till the
year 2047 (TERI 1998), the present and future availability of freshwater resources in India has been assessed. In this connection, a
procedure for assessing water resources development was developed and tested on a representative large river basin, which had a mix of
agricultural and industrial production, and
population growth.The specific objectives were
to analyse current water availability with regard to quantity and quality, identify and evaluate key water sustainability indicators, predict
future water resources development, and suggest options for sustainable water resources
management in the basin. This paper summarizes the most important results of the study.

Physical features and

geography of the Yamuna
basin
The Yamuna basin is representative of a large
river basin in India, having witnessed development in the past and still doing so. Further

development can only be guaranteed if present

water resources are balanced against usage and
demand in order to arrive at a net availability
for the future. Figure 1 shows the basin location, size, and its political boundaries.
The river Yamuna originates in north India
in the lower Himalayas at an elevation of 6320
m above mean sea level.The river travels a route
length of c. 1400 km before it merges with the
river Ganga in Central India. The river flows
c. 200 km in the hills in the north of the basin
before it enters the Indo-Gangetic plains,
where it covers the rest of its 1200 km route
length (MoWR 1989). Four major tributaries
join the main stream river on its right bank
and two on the left. The total catchment area
is c. 346000 km2 (approximately 1/12th of
Indias geographical area) with a population
of c. 131 million people. The area covers parts
of five states of India and the entire state of
Delhi. The five states covered partly are,
Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. In total, there
are 80 districts in the basin.
Topographically, the catchment is characterized by three regions. The hilly region lies
in the northern part of the basin at an average
elevation of 600 m amsl and forms 3 per cent
of the total catchment area. The foothills and
plateau regions lie in the western, eastern, and
central parts of the basin at an elevation of
300-600 m amsl and form 50 per cent of the
total catchment area. The plain regions lie in
the centre and to the south of the basin at an
elevation of 100-300 m amsl and form 47 per
cent of the total area. About 42 per cent of the
soils in the catchment area are characterized
as alluvial, 40 per cent medium black, black
and mixed red soils, and the rest as calcareous,
brown hill soils and deep black soils (CPCB
1984).
The basin experiences hot and dry summers
which extend even up to 9 months, and cold
and dry winters. About 60 to 70 per cent of the
rainfall occurs in August, September, and October. Its intensity varies markedly from one

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

23

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

Shimla
Uttarkashi

Solan
Sirmur
Yamunanagar

Kurukshetra
Karnal
Jind

Sirsa
Ganganagar

Panipat

Hissar

Tehri Garhwal
Dehra Dun

Saharanpur
Muzaffarnagar

Sonepat Meerut
Rohtak

Bhiwani
Churu

Delhi

Mahendragarh
Rewari
Jhunjhunu

D istrict boundary

Ghaziabad

B asin boundary
Yam una river w ith m ajor tributaries

Faridabad Bulandshar
Gurgaon

Sikar

Mathura Aligarh

Alwar

Etah
Bharatpur

Jaipur

Mainpuri

Agra

Etawah
Bhind

Kanpur

Sawai Madhopur

Ajmer

Tonk

Jalaun

Gwalior
Morena

Fatepur

Datia
Jhansi

Bundi

Bhilwara

Banda
Shivpuri

Kota

Udaipur

Satna

Tikamgarh

Chittorgarh

Guna

Mandsaur

Hamirpur

Lalitpur

Jhalawar

Chhatarpur
Panna

Ratlam

Shajapur

Rajgarh

Sagar

Vidisha

Damoh
Raisen

Ujjain
Bhopal
Dewas
Dhar

Sehore

Indore

Figure 1 Geographical map of the Yamuna river basin

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Allahabad

24

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

region to another with an average annual rainfall of about 1100 mm. However, there are areas in the central part of the basin which receive
as much as 2000 mm per year. Some areas in
the western part of the basin receive little rainfall, even less than 450 mm per year.

Study approach
District-wise time series information for the
Yamuna basin was collected using water resource and economic development data. Data
was collected from various governmental organizations in Indiathe Ministry of Water
Resources, the Ministry of Environment and
Forests, Central and State Groundwater
boards, Central Pollution Control Board, and
Central and State Statistical departments.
Water resource data was collected on
g roundwater (g roundwater recharge,
groundwater table, groundwater development,
groundwater quality) and surface water (river
hydrographs, surface water quality, and major
storages). Economic development data was
collected for the domestic, agricultural, and
irrigation sectors. A common district-wise statistical database was formed for each of the
above parameters. Each parameter was then
classified into high, medium, and low range
classes following national classification norms,
and statistical averages. For example, population density data ranged from < 100 to > 1200
persons/km2. It was classified as high density
for districts having a density more than 800
persons/km2, medium for districts having values between 400 to 800 persons/km 2, and low
density for districts having a density of less
than 400 persons/km 2.
The classification of parameters was followed by trend analysis for each parameter in
order to examine the changes that have taken
place with time. Economic development trends
were based on data for the last 40 years, while
trend analysis for river hydrographs and district-wise groundwater tables was based on
data of the last 15 to 20 years. Trend analysis

on groundwater and surface water quality was

based on data of the last 5 to 10 years.

Geographical Information
Systems
Further analysis was performed on GIS (Geographical Information Systems). District-wise
state political maps and a Yamuna river basin
map were digitized and overlaid to form the
base map of the Yamuna basin. The maps had
a spatial resolution varying from 1:50000 to
1:200000. Classified datasets, trend analyses,
groundwater table contours and maps indicating groundwater quality were merged into the
base map. This was followed by identification
and evaluation of three water sustainability
indicators, which address the present water
sustainability status for the whole basin as well
as for each district lying in it. As a result of this
GIS-supported analysis, a water stress map of
the basin was developed. Districts were identified as being stressed either due to excessive
deterioration in quality or excessive depletion
in quantity of water resources. The future development of water resources in the basin was
addressed assuming that the current trends of
water use will continue. Based on that scenario
technological options for area-wide sustainable water resource management were outlined.

Current status of water

resources in the Yamuna
basin
The level of economic development in the basin has been large and diverse in the last 40
years, which has strongly influenced the availability and use of water resources. The total
population in the basin has grown at an average annual rate of 2.4 per cent from c. 51 million in the 1950s to c. 131 million in the 1990s.
Areas in and around Delhi have experienced a
high annual rate of growth of c. 4 per cent. Accordingly, the water requirements for meeting
domestic needs have gone up. It is estimated

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

that in the last 40 years domestic water use has

risen from c. 1000 million cubic metres
(MCM) to a present annual use of c. 4000
MCM. It is estimated that the present annual
irrigation water use in the basin is c. 52000
MCM. The net irrigated area in the basin has
gone up from c. 47000 km2 in the 1950s to c.
110000 km2 in the 1990s, at a rate of approximately 1.8 per cent per annum. However, the
share of traditional water harvesting systems
for irrigation has shown a downward trend from
c. 15 per cent in the 1950s to almost nil in the
1990s.
The contribution to total irrigation from
surface water sources has also come down from
60 per cent in the 1950s to almost 30 per cent
now. As a result, the contr ibution of
groundwater irrigation has risen from c. 20 per
cent in the 1950s to almost 60 per cent now.
The northern portion of the basin dominates
in the requirement of irrigation water.
While there were only a few industries about
40 years back, the total number of large- andmedium scale industries in the basin is more
than 10000 now.The majority of these belongs
to the pulp and paper, sugar, fertilizer, and distillery types. Most of these industries are agrobased and located close to irrigation belts, i.e.,
in the north-east and north-west. Small-scale
industries are a little less than 1 million in
number. For calculating industrial requirements of water, norms adopted by the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India,
have been used in the study, and at present the
annual industrial water consumption is c. 400
MCM.

Groundwater quantity and

quality
The overall analysis of groundwater recharge
for each district shows the present renewable
groundwater recharge in the basin at c. 63000
MCM (CGWB 1991, 1995). The present
groundwater table for the basin lies in the range
of 1 m to 150 m below ground level. The cen-

25

tral and northern portions of the basin have

water tables in an average range of 8 to 20 m
below ground level. The south-west portions
of the basin are in an average range of 40 to 60
m below ground level, whereas the south-east
portions of the basin have groundwater tables
in the range of 3 to 10 m below ground level.
A detailed analysis of the status of
groundwater quality and quantity was done
for four parameters, groundwater table decline,
groundwater table rise, groundwater development, and groundwater quality.
Water tables in irrigated areas located in the
north of the basin have experienced a decline
of 0.3 to 1 m/year. This resulted in a water
table decline of 6 m to 10 m in last 20 years
with the highest fall of 18 m in the irrigated
blocks of the nor th-west where fresh
groundwater irrigation is practised. Industrial
areas lying in the south-west, and central parts
of the basin show a decline in the water table
at a rate of approximately 0.5 m/year.
Areas which have experienced waterlogging
are ones where the water table is 2 to 3 metres
below ground level accompanied by a water
table rise of 0.2 to 0.3 m per year. Such areas
lie in the canal commands, occurring mainly
in the north and south-west portions of the
basin. Most of these areas have a flat or a
synclinal inland drainage basin with no drainage outfalls into the rivers. This aggravates the
problem of soil salinization and flooding. Almost 15 per cent of the basin falls into the waterlogged category.
Groundwater development, a ratio of annual net groundwater extracted to net renewable recharge (utilizable resource), has been
analysed for each district in the basin. As per
the national norms four classes have been created for determining district-wise groundwater
development, as represented in Table 1. Based
on the analysis, the average groundwater development for the basin is c. 66 per cent with a
compounded annual rate of growth of approximately 1.8 per cent. According to the national

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

26

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

Table 1 Groundwater development in the Yamuna

basin

Category

Level of
exploitation as
percentage of
recharge

Percentage of
the basin

Over-exploited
More than 100% 12
No scope for further
development
85 to 100%
9
Restricted scope for
further development 65 to 85%
11
Enough scope for
further development Less than 65%
68
Source CGWB 1991, 1995

norms, this puts the basin in the category of

restricted potential for future groundwater
development.
District-wise analysis shows that 21 out of
80 distr icts do not have any scope for
groundwater development in the future.These
districts lie predominantly in the north-west
and central portions of the basin. The southern portions of the basin have an average
groundwater development value of c. 30 per
cent indicating that potential for further development exists.
The current status of groundwater quality
was evaluated mainly by using conductivity
values in micro siemen per cm (S/cm). The
data was taken from the Groundwater Boards.
The groundwater quality was classified as deteriorated if the conductivity was greater than
2250 S/cm (national norm for classifying
salinization in marginal conditions). Overall
analysis shows that at present 20 to 25 per cent
of the total basin suffers from quality deterioration. Approximately 40 per cent of the areas
lying in the northern parts of the basin have
experienced salinization. Some values are as
high as 7000 S/cm. In these areas the reason
for quality deterioration was connected to

leaching of dissolved salts, fertilizers and pesticides, before and after monsoon periods. In
New Delhi, saline aquifers occur naturally at a
depth of around 20 to 40 m below ground level.
Over-exploitation has led to the upward movement of these saline aquifers. Certain blocks
in Delhi have already started showing conductivity values in the range of 3000-5000 S/cm.

Surface water quantity and

quality
The total average surface water availability is
estimated at c. 90000 MCM, out of which approximately 90 per cent comes through the
monsoon flows (MoWR 1989). In addition,
live storage from major and medium water storage projects such as dams, barrages, etc. in the
entire basin is c. 17000 MCM. The major contribution to storage is from the southern part
of the basin while the northern and central
parts contribute to about 15 per cent of the
total storage potential.
River flow data was obtained from the Ministry of Water Resources and averaged over the
last 26 years (MoWR 1989). River hydrographs
show that the major portion of the main stream
represents a tropical rainfall-dependent river
regime. Based on the analysis done in this study
as represented by Figure 2, the main river can
be divided into three segmentsthe upper segment approximately 200 km in length, the central segment, and the lower segment, each
approximately 600 km in length. The upper
segment of the river has an average annual average flow rate of 250 m3/s. As the river flows
to the central portion of the basin, 60 to 70 per
cent of the water is diverted into major storages
and canals and hence the annual average flow
in the main river reduces considerably to 150
m3/s. In New Delhi, which lies in the central
portion, the summer flows are less than 2 m3/s.
For a considerable period there is no flow in
Delhi. The river in its lower segment shows a
rise in annual average flows to 1500 m3/s, which
is due to the flow contributions from the four

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

Annual average flow

!
(m /s)
2500
US
MS
2000

LS

1500
1000
500
0

200

400

600 800 1000 1200 1400

Length of river (km)
US: Upper segment of the river, MS: Middle segment
LS: Lower segment, Monitoring station

Figure 2 Annual average flow rates of river Yamuna

(19591985)
major tributaries. Stations along this have a
minimum summer flow of 100 m3/s. Around 85
per cent of the total surface storage potential in
the Yamuna basin is in this region.
River quality data has been collected from
the Central Pollution Control Board and the
Ministry of Environment and Forests for the
last 6 to 10 years (CPCB 1988, CPCB 1989,
CPCB 1990) and 3 parameters have been studied: biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total coliform (TC), and dissolved oxygen (DO).
Overall river quality analysis shows that almost
50 per cent of the total river is highly polluted
and is far from meeting the levels defined in
the classification for national river water standards. In the upper segment the quality of the

27

river meets the desired standards. Towards the

end of the upper segment, the presence of large
industrial localities causes a deterioration in
the quality of surface water to a BOD value of
10 mg/l as against the desired standard of 3
mg/l. TC has been found to be 3 to 4 times
higher than the standard of 5000 mg/l due to
untreated domestic wastewater entering this
river segment. The central segment of the river
has very poor quality due to low flows and heavy
pollution loads entering the river stream from
domestic and industrial activities. Domestic
activities have found to contribute 60 per cent
of the total pollution load, due to which river
BOD levels may be as high as 30 mg/l. The
bacteriological pollution (TC) has been found
in millions along Delhi, and DO (standard
value of 4 mg/l) is almost nil in the Delhi stretch
and in most of the other middle stretches. The
lower portions of the river have acceptable
quality standards mainly because of dilution
of pollutants due to availability of high flows.
TC has been found to 2 to 4 times higher than
the standard due to domestic wastes.

Major inferences from the

current status of water
resources in the Yamuna
basin
Table 2 gives a comprehensive assessment of
the status of ground and surface water resources in the Yamuna basin based on the
above analysis. According to Table 2, most

Table 2 Comprehensive assessment on the current status of water resources in the Yamuna basin
Category

Impact parameter

% basin affected

Areas affected

Groundwater

Groundwater depletion (> -0.5 m/year)

Waterlogging (> + 0.3 m/year)
Groundwater development (> 85%)
Groundwater quality deterioration (> 2250 mS/cm)
Low flow (< 50 m 3 /s)
Poor quality (BOD > 3 mg/l)

25
20
25
20
30
40

NE, NW and Central

NE and NW
NE, NW and Central
NE, NW, Central and SE
Central
NE, Central and SE

Surface water

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

28

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

affected areas lie in the northern and central

parts of the basin.
It can be seen that the NW portions of the
basin are on the one hand, affected by
groundwater depletion and groundwater development, and on the other, affected by
waterlogging and salinization. The former is
mainly due to the huge demands made by irrigation on fresh groundwater. As a result certain districts with groundwater continue to
exploit their fresh reserves, while other districts having salinized water (>2250 S/cm)
are unable to implement and find ways of utilizing their groundwater. Seepage in canal areas is not checked resulting in waterlogging,
and reduction in the flood absorption capacity of the soil.
The NE portions face similar challenges due
to ir r igation demands, resulting in
g roundwater depletion, development,
waterlogging, and ground water quality deterioration. In addition, the NE suffers from surface water quality deterioration.This is mainly
due to large industrial belts located near the
river streams.
Central portions of the basin comprising
Delhi and its surrounding areas suffer due to
depletion in groundwater, groundwater development, low river flows, and poor surface and
groundwater quality. Population and industries
are primarily responsible for this condition but
irrigation also plays a significant role.The presence of large storages on the upstream side
and diversion of river water to canals is responsible for low flows in the river. Domestic pollution is responsible for the deterioration in
quality of surface water. A saline aquifer 20 to
40 m below ground level threatens an increase
in salinity levels in the groundwater of Delhi.
The south-west portion of the basin is characterized by deep water tables up to 150 m
below ground level with an average depth of
40 to 60 m. Because of these deep water tables, traditional water harvesting systems such
as surface and sub-surface tanks used to be

major sources of water but they have not been

maintained properly. Until the fifties as much as
15 per cent of the water demand was met by
these systems.

Assessment of water
resources development
Identification and evaluation
of water sustainability
indicators
Three indicators have been identified and
evaluated for analysing the water sustainability
status of the basin. First, two indicators, the
water barrier index and use-to-resource indicator, are applied on a large river basin scale
covering the whole Yamuna basin.

The water barrier

The water barrier concept is the most widely
cited measure of water sufficiency for large regions and river basins. It has been used in a
number of sustainability evaluation studies
(Falkenmark and Widstrand 1992; Gleick
1993, 1997; Engleman and LeRoy 1993). This
approach has the advantage of providing a simple view for the basin, thereby stating the category in which it lies. The demarcations of the
indicator are based on per capita availability
of renewable water (m 3 per capita). Values
above 1700 m3/capita indicate no water stress;
between 1000 and 1700 indicate stress; between 500 and 1000 indicate scarcity; and
values less than 500 indicate absolute scarcity. At the present basin population of c. 131
million, the water barrier is calculated to be c.
1200 m3 per capita, putting the basin in the
stressed category.

Use-to-resource ratio
This indicator is defined as the ratio of total
withdrawal to renewable utilizable resources.
It is based on the common notion that a region
which withdraws a large fraction of its renewable resources is likely to face water shortages.

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

According to Raskin et al. (1996) a use-toresource ratio above 25% could introduce potential shortages either due to decreased supply
or increased demand. This is indicative of water stress. Instead of defining firm cutoff points,
it is simply recognized that, as the use-to-resource ratio increases, regions will experience
greater water stress and scarcity. For the
Yamuna river basin, the total withdrawals are
estimated to be approximately 52000 MCM.
With the total average water availability at
153000 MCM, the value of this indicator is
approximately 34 per cent, which again puts
the basin in the stressed category, confirming
the view developed by the water barrier approach.

Integrated water stress score

Since the above two indicators cannot be applied to the sub-catchment or district level, a
third indicator, the integrated water stress
score, has been developed for analysing the
sustainability of water resources. The integrated water stress score is an outcome of the
evaluation of eight parameters, population
density, irrigation intensity, number of industrial facilities, groundwater development, water table decline or rise, groundwater quality,
surface water quality, and surface water flow.
The values for each of these parameters for
each district have been divided into three subgroups: acceptable, average, and undesirable.
Each sub-group has been assigned a point, i.e.,
acceptable is 1, average is 2, and undesirable is
3. As an example, a high rate of decline in the
water table (>0.5 m/year) falls in the undesirable category and a rate of 0.1 or less and absence of waterlogging falls in the acceptable
category. Based on a summation of the points
for each of the parameters for each district,
the scores are tabulated in the form of integrated water stress and then converted into
relative percentages = (district score/24) x 100.
At this stage local water agencies were involved in order to incorporate their expertise

29

and understanding of regional water issues and

the integrated water stress score classified.
Districts with a percentage stress score of more
than 60 were classified as highly stressed. In
such areas further water development should
be restricted or should only take place if it does
not pose a further threat to water depletion
and deterioration. Moderately stressed districts were classified as having percentage stress
scores ranging from 40 to 60. In these districts
development could take place to a certain extent. Districts with percentage scores less than
40 were classified as low stress areas with
scope for further water use and development.
Based on the above classification system, a
water stress map for the basin has been developed (Figure 3). Of 80 districts, 20 fall in the
highly stressed category.

Water resources
developmentthe prognosis
A future scenario has been drawn up assuming
that current trends, policies, and development
goals will continue. The purpose of this business-as-usual scenario is to indicate future
water availability in the Yamuna basin with respect to quantity and quality.
Taking the present population growth rate
of 2.4 per cent per year, the water barrier by
the year 2010 would be 850 m 3/capita indicating water scarcity in the basin. By the year
2025 the per capita availability would further
reduce to c. 650 m 3/capita, moving the basin
towards absolute scarcity.
For a forecast of the use-to-water resource
ratio, estimates of the water demand for irrigation as made by the MoWR (1989) are used.
It is assumed that 1 m3 of water can irrigate
approximately 2 m2 of land. With the present
rate of growth in net irrigated areas at 1.8 per
cent and irrigation intensity of 100 per cent, it
is estimated that the present irrigation water
use of 52000 MCM will rise in the year 2025
to 93000 MCM. In addition, due to urbanization, less land will be available for expanding

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

30

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

Shimla
Uttarkashi

Solan
Sirmur
Yamunanagar

Kurukshetra
Karnal
Jind

Sirsa

Panipat

Hissar

Ganganagar

Tehri Garhwal
Dehra Dun

Saharanpur
Muzaffarnagar

Sonepat Meerut
Rohtak
Ghaziabad
Delhi

Bhiwani
Churu

Mahendragarh
Rewari
Jhunjhunu

B asin boundary
Yam una river w ith m ajor tributaries
Stress
Low

Faridabad Bulandshar
Gurgaon

Sikar

M edium

Mathura Aligarh

Alwar

H igh
Etah

Bharatpur

Jaipur

Mainpuri

Agra

Etawah
Bhind

Kanpur

Sawai Madhopur

Ajmer

Tonk

Jalaun

Gwalior
Morena

Fatepur

Datia
Jhansi

Bundi

Bhilwara

Banda
Shivpuri

Kota

Udaipur

Satna

Tikamgarh

Chittorgarh

Guna

Mandsaur

Hamirpur

Lalitpur

Jhalawar

Chhatarpur
Panna

Ratlam

Shajapur

Rajgarh

Sagar

Vidisha

Damoh
Raisen

Ujjain
Bhopal
Dewas
Dhar

Sehore

Indore

Figure 3 Present district-wise water stress map of the river basin

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Allahabad

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

cropped areas, and will lead to a further rise in

irrigation intensity. Based on the above estimate of 93000 MCM, the use-to-water resource ratio for the year 2025 will rise to more
than 60 per cent indicating further shortages
in water availability made worse by domestic
and industrial water demands.
The water stress score determines that the
number of districts experiencing high water
stress by the year 2025 will increase to 37 in
all. This is a rise of more than 50 per cent in
the present number of water-stressed districts.
More importantly, emerging water problems
will be intensified due to increased pressures
on water within current water-stressed areas
of the river basin. Sharp declines in the water
table can be expected in irrigated blocks of the
northern areas of the basin. With the present
rate of decline in Delhi at 0.3 to 0.4 m/year, it
is estimated that in another 10-12 years saline
aquifers will cover most of the southern Delhi
blocks. Particularly in the canal command areas, the effects of rising water table conditions
m ay wor sen in the future resulting in
salinization, and reduced flood absorption capacities of the soils. By 2025 such areas will
cover 40 per cent of the total northern portion
of the basin. The compounded annual rate of
growth in groundwater development in the
northern and central portions of the basin is
evaluated at 1.5 to 2 per cent. This implies
that the number of districts not allowing any
scope for further groundwater development in
the year 2025 will rise to 40 from 21. With a
rise in industrial activities and population
growth, surface water quality is likely to deteriorate further. This is especially critical for
the middle segment of the riverYamuna, which
is characterized as a low flow regime.

Options for sustainable water

resources management in the
Yamuna basin
Based on the analysis of the present situation
and future status of water resources, it becomes

31

clear that long-term water availability in the

Yamuna basin cannot be guaranteed. An areawise framework of an overall plan for sustainable water resource use and management in
the Yamuna basin needs to be set in place. This
will promote the best combination of options
for supply and demand for the conservation
and protection of natural water resources.
In irrigated areas in the northern parts of
the basin the options for sustainable water resources management have to include the introduction of specific technological measures.
In portions where water tables are rising, seepage of water from canals needs to be prevented.
As an accompanying measure, horizontal
drainage systems would be suitable. In order
to avoid further salinization and waterlogging
in canal-affected areas, as well as in order to
reduce the decline of water tables in fresh
groundwater irrigated areas, the consumption
and use patterns of ground and surface water
need to be changed. This can be achieved by
introducing a conjunctive use of surface and
ground water, which is the mixing of saline
groundwater with fresh ground and surface
water up to a degree acceptable to the crops
grown in that area. The conjunctive use of water appears to be an attractive long-term sustainable solution for all regions where potential
for mixing saline and fresh water exists. Accordingly, sub-surface drainage systems may
be installed for removing excess water from
the soils.
In areas in the SW portion suffering from
deep and declining water tables, an increase in
water storage could play a very important role.
One way would be through the maintenance
of traditional water harvesting systems such
as surface and sub-surface storage tanks. Particularly where evapotranspiration rates are
high, sub-surface storages could augment the
available water by up to 10 to 15 per cent of
the present availability, which then could be
used for meeting domestic and irrigation needs.
This would help to avoid over-pumping of

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

32

Narula, Wendland, Bhujanga Rao, and Bansal

groundwater. Particularly in saline deep water

table areas it would reduce the upward movement of the saline aquifer. Optimum irrigation planning in these areas would play a very
important role in arresting the decline. Combinations under irrigation planning would include a study on effects of changes in irrigation
intensity on crop types and crop yields.
In the central and a few SE portions of the
Yamuna basin where surface water flow rates
are extremely low and groundwater development is extremely high, artificial groundwater
recharge seems to be an appropriate option
for a sustainable water management plan.This
is particularly true for Delhi and areas around
it. At present more than half of the monsoon
runoff is not utilized and hence flows out of
the basin. This surplus monsoon runoff has
good scope for artificial groundwater recharge.
A rough estimate for the Yamuna flood plain in
Delhi shows that such a system could increase
the present availability of groundwater of c.
300 MCM to c. 400 MCM per annum. Rooftop rain water har vesting for recharging
groundwater reservoirs is also a feasible proposition in urban areas.
The central portions of the basin suffer due
to low river flow rates and high river pollution
loads from the domestic and industrial sectors. It is estimated that the minimum river
flow all the year round should be 60 to 80 m3/
s to maintain the quality of the river at desired
national standards. However, due to the tropical rainfall dependent regime of the Yamuna
river, and upstream storages, such flows probably cannot be realized at all in the middle
stretch. Hence, sustainability options there
should focus on pragmatic solutions such as
the use of cleaner technologies, efficient
wastewater treatment, and use of treated domestic wastewater for irrigation.

Outlook
The efficiency of the options suggested for sustainable water resources management needs

to be validated for representative water stress

areas on the sub-catchment scale. This has to
include an evaluation of site-specific water
availability based on natural water balance vis-vis the regional use and economic growth
projections.The suggested water conservation
technologies have to be evaluated with regard
to their applicability and adapted to regional
topographical effects. As a result of this areadifferentiated procedure, the hydrological response of each subcatchment to changes in
technology such as conjunctive use of water,
horizontal drainage systems, sub-surface
drainage, artificial recharging, etc. could be
analysed. Finally it has to be determined how
these options should be supplemented by
policy instruments and frameworks such as
water pricing, pollution tax, and institutional
strengthening.

References
CGWB. 1991
Groundwater resources of India
New Delhi: Central Groundwater Board,
Ministry of Water Resources. 56 pp.
CGWB. 1995
Groundwater resources of India New
estimates
New Delhi: Central Groundwater Board,
Ministry of Water Resources. 64 pp.
CPCB. 1984
Basin sub-basin inventory of water pollution the Ganga basin Part 1,
New Delhi: Central Pollution Control Board.
114 pp.
[Assessment and development study of river
basin series ADSORBS/7/1982-83]
CPCB. 1988
Water Quality Statistics of India (197987)
Delhi: Central Pollution Control Board
[MINARS/3/198990]

Journal of Environmental Studies and Policy 4(1): 2133

Water resources development in the Yamuna river basin in India

CPCB. 1989
Water Quality Statistics of India (198889)
Delhi: Central Pollution Control Board
[MINARS/3/199091]
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Water Quality Statistics of India (1990)
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Sustaining water: population and the
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Population and water resources: a delicate
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Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.
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33

Gleick P. 1997
Human population and water: meeting
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In Population, Environment, and Development
edited by R K Pachauri, pp. 105122
New Delhi:Tata Energy Research Institute. 357 pp.
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