Water is the most abundant single substance in the biosphere, 150,000,000 cubic kilometers in volume.

Our earth is covered with 75% water of which the oceans and seas hold 97% which is salty.  Another 2% is locked up in the ice caps and snow and is thereby unusable.  Only 1% is found in the rivers, lakes and underground reservoirs and can be used by man.

India is one of the wettest countries in the world.  Its average annual rainfall is 1,170 mm.  India gets about 400 million hectare-metres (mham) of precipitation annually, in the form of rain and snow.

1,683 million cubic metres of water flow through Indian rivers every year.

85-90% of the rain water flows into the sea.

If we don’t stop constructing dams, there will be hardly any free-flowing rivers left in the country.

71% of water is lost from unlined canals, due to seepage.

Deforestation and destruction of wetland areas are the causes of increased sediments in water.

Irrigation accounts for 92% of the water consumed and the remaining 8% is used for domestic and industrial needs.

450 km³ of waste water enters the world’s rivers.  600 km³ of water is needed to transport this waste away and dilute it.

About 70% of India’s surface waters are polluted: Out of some 3,119 towns and cities, only 217 have partial or complete sewage treatment facilities.

Many lakes and reservoirs are becoming eutrophied (enrichment of organic nutrients) and their ability to support aquatic life is being cost.

Excessive deforestation results in silting of the rivers, thereby reducing their water holding capacity, which in turn, results in the spilling over the flooding of adjacent areas.

Water-borne diseases such as typhoid, jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery account for 66% of all illnesses in India.

With 70% of available drinking water being polluted, two-thirds of all diseases in India are water borne.  As a result, we loose 73 million work days annually together with production worth Rs. 600 crores.

Industrial wastes, drained into waterways, have created the nightmare of paralysis and other crippling diseases caused by slow pollution due to mercury and other metals which creep up the food chain into fish as well as cow’s milk.

India’s groundwater resources are about 10 times its annual rainfall. But this water is declining in many areas due to the increasing number of tube wells.

Wetlands which act as a buffer for floods, purifiers of waste-water and nurseries for fish and wildlife, are being drained with no regards to their economic values.

The biggest problem with India’s water resources is that it varies greatly over both time and space.  Nearly three-quarters of India’s rain comes pouring down during the four monsoon months from June to September.  For the rest of the year, the country remains relatively dry.