We need to understand and take care of the whole water ecosystem.

The only sources of water in our country is rain water from monsoon which is 30 or 40 downpours in 30 or 40 days. Snowfall also contributes, but it accounts for only about 14%.

So, these 30 days of rainfall need to meet the water requirement for 365 days. We need to be able to hold water for 365 days.

One natural form of water storage is ground water. But, decline in ground water levels is increasingly becoming a problem in most parts of the country. What needs to be done to address the problem?

We have disrupted the natural eco system of water too much. When rivers flow from mountains to the sea it is a system, which should not be disturbed.

So, aquifers recharge through 2 sources – sub soil and swollen rivers. Rivers have peak and base flows. They swell during the monsoon and reach their peak flow levels which can be more than a hundred times the base flow.

During peak flows, rivers swell and reach the flood plains, marshlands and wetlands which can potentially hold water, acting as storage, and also recharge ground water. Now, if you keep building on flood plains and wetlands – as in the case of Thane, Navi Mumbai and many other cities – ground water will not recharge.

Swollen rivers also recharge aquifers through crevices which can be 30-40 kilometres away from where the aquifer is located. Aquifers have particular recharge points. They need to be identified and protected.

Extreme rain events will increase with climate change. The number of rainfall days will reduce. So, the intensity of rainfall will increase and ground water recharge will be slowed further.

So, we actually need to increase forest cover to be able to deal with these changes because forests act as excellent catchments and also facilitate the recharge of ground water. But, we are doing the opposite.

In the natural world, there existed low lying areas and aquifers for storage. Aquifers would get recharged through recharge points on the surface of the earth. The surplus water would go to the river. The rest would go to the sub soil due to forests.

Now, we are destroying forests, recharge points and constructing on wetlands and flood plains. This is a crisis waiting to happen. We have disrupted the river and wetlands ecosystem.