Erick Burgueño Salas
Research expert covering climate change and the water industry
Water accessibility in India - statistics & facts
As the most populated country in the world, India has a gigantic task of providing every single one of its citizens with basic water services . Even if it holds a considerable volume of water resources, the South-Asian country needs to overcome various water supply challenges, such as increasing demand due to rapid urbanization and non-sustainable agricultural practices, water pollution, as well as erratic rainfall patterns, worsened by climate change.
Regarding ground and surface water quality, approximately 4.9 million Indian residents were affected by groundwater contamination as of March 2024, being salinity and iron the biggest pollutants. Moreover, around 311 river stretches were polluted in India in 2022. During that year, two out of ten polluted river stretches were located in Maharashtra, making it the state with most contaminated river stretches in India.
The aggravating crisis will have a direct impact in ongoing water conflicts in the country. For instance, the decades long dispute of the river Cauvery between the state of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka resurfaced in 2023. Amid a deficit in rainfall and drought-like conditions, Karnataka refused a request from Tamil Nadu asking for the release of a higher volume of water.
Water distribution and quality
As of 2022, around 93 percent of people in India counted with at least basic water access, meaning they had access to an improved source within 30 minutes of round trip from their homes. The access situation in rural and urban areas is similar, with both having more than 90 percent of basic water services coverage. Nonetheless, when comparing the type of distribution infrastructure, rural populations faced a more complicated scenario. Almost two-thirds of people living in rural areas in India had access to water sources via a non-piped system, a situation that can jeopardize the quality of the water being delivered. In contrast, 66 percent of people in urban areas had access to water through a piped system.Regarding ground and surface water quality, approximately 4.9 million Indian residents were affected by groundwater contamination as of March 2024, being salinity and iron the biggest pollutants. Moreover, around 311 river stretches were polluted in India in 2022. During that year, two out of ten polluted river stretches were located in Maharashtra, making it the state with most contaminated river stretches in India.
India's water crisis
Pollution is not the only problem the Indian water sector needs to face. Recurrent high temperatures and less predictable rain patterns, exacerbated by climate change, have put India’s water resources under stress. In August 2023, India declared a drought emergency in the middle of its driest August since records started, becoming one of the eight countries that declared drought emergencies that year. Since then, the situation has worsened, reaching worrying levels. As of February 2024, 26 percent of Indian territory was affected by at least a moderate drought, more than double the land area in the same month of the previous year.The aggravating crisis will have a direct impact in ongoing water conflicts in the country. For instance, the decades long dispute of the river Cauvery between the state of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka resurfaced in 2023. Amid a deficit in rainfall and drought-like conditions, Karnataka refused a request from Tamil Nadu asking for the release of a higher volume of water.
