Catch Where it Falls

Photo courtesy: Wateraid/ Prashanth Vishwanathan

Villages in India can meet their basic drinking and water needs through simple measures, likerainwater harvesting.

Abstract: The answer to India’s perennial drought problem despite high rainfall lies in addressing policy failures and formulating measures not just for mitigating problems, but drought-proofing the entire country.

The author is managing editor, Down to Earth magazine. richard@cse.org


Term Power

What is ...

Non-revenue water is the water that has been produced but is lost before it reaches the customer. It is one of the biggest problems as it increases the water stress.

An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock, sediment, or soil that yields water. The aquifers near the surface are usually used for water supply and irrigation.

Drip irrigation is a micro-irrigation system where water drips slowly into the roots of the plants from pipes buried below the surface.

Groundwater recharge is a hydrologic process where water moves downwards from surface water to groundwater. Groundwater recharge occurs through wetlands, rainfall and more.

A floodplain is a strip of relatively flat and normally dry land alongside a stream, river, or lake that is covered by water during a flood. Floodplains are produced by lateral movement of a stream and by overbank deposition.

Hardness of water is the quality indication of salts in water. Water hardness can cause costly industrial problems, such as breakdowns in boilers and cooling towers, and may even cause irreplaceable corrosion. The temporary hardness of water can be removed by boiling, while permanent hardness removal require a water softener or an ion exchange column.

A settling pond is an open lagoon into which wastewater contaminated with solid pollutants is placed and allowed to stand. The basins are used to control water pollution in industries such as agriculture,aquaculture, and mining.