1. Water Resources in the Indus-Gangetic Basin
Bharat Sharma
Basin Focal Project for the
Indus-Gangetic Basin

2. The Indus- Gangetic Basin
255 M ha drainage area across 4 major and 2 minor countries.
747 million people (2001, Census)
Physical and economic water scarcity.
Both covered under 10 most endangered rivers (WWF)

3. Indus River Basin 110 M ha area Mount Kailash in Tibet
Indus Water Treaty
Annual system inflow of 175 BCM (CV~ 13%)
Snow and ice melt form a large part

4. Changing pattern of surface irrigation diversions in the IBIS, Pakistan
15 barrages
45 main canals
14 river-link canals

5. Water Resources in the Ganges Basin
Gangotri glacier in Gomukh
1.09 m km2 ( 79-I, 13-N, 4-C, 4-B)
Tehri Dam, Farakka Barrage
BCM

6. Whole basin annual precipitation and runoff from 1951 to 2000 in the Ganga Basin

7. Ganges Basin Water Use
Ganges basin has high annual average rainfall of more than 1000 mm, averaged across the basin, and 2000 mm or more in Himalayan catchments.
Net discharge from the Basin accounts for more water than any other use, followed by rainfed agriculture.
The impact of increasing irrigation efficiency ( from 40 to 60%) has relatively little impact on water availability overall. However, increase in irrigated area may lead to overall net increase in water consumption and a marginal impact downstream.
McKirby et al, 2009

8. The spatial distribution of major water uses in catchments of the Indus and Ganges Basin
McKirby et al, 2009
Ganges basin
Indus Basin

9. Summary of major water uses in the Indus and the Ganges Basin
Indus Basin
Ganges Basin
McKirby et al, 2009

10. Groundwater Recharge in Indus- Gangetic Basin

11. Ganga Basin Indus Basin
Groundwater availability and its use in the Indus-Gangetic Basin
Basin Name
Groundwater Available (BCM)
Annual Groundwater Draft (BCM)
Stage of GW Development (%)
Irrigation
Domestic, Industrial & others
Total
Ganga Basin
India
168.7
94.4
8.2
102.4 61
Nepal
11.5
0.8
0.3
1.1 10
Bangladesh
64.6
25.2
4.1
29.3 45
244.8
120.4
12.6
132.8 54
Indus Basin
30.2
36.4
1.6
38.0
126
Pakistan*
55.1
46.2
5.1
51.3 93
85.3
82.6
6.7
89.3
105

12. IG Basin states
Area under tubewell irrigation
(000 ha)
Net irrigated area
Share of groundwater in increased total irrigated area
1995
2005
% increase
Indian_IGB states
15.5
20.9 35
35.5
40.5
110
Pakistan*
2.6
3.0 18
15.8
16.7 57
Bangladesh
2.3
3.7 59
3.5
5.0 93
Nepala
0.1
0.2
115
0.9
1.2 40
Total
22.5
30.0 33
55.8
63.4 99
Decadal increase in tubewell irrigated area in Indus-Gangetic Basin countries

13. Groundwater quality in IG basin
Rechna-Doab, Pakistan
IG Basin states, India

14. Predicted arsenic contamination in ground waters of Ganga basin

15. Ganga River Basin Annual water balance components
Source: Gosain, AK, IIT_D

16. Ganga River – Annual Peak
Source: Gosain, AK, IIT_D

17. Events exceeding arbitrary thresholds in Ganga River Basin
Discharge (cumecs)
Control
GHG
Ganga Subbasins
Sub11
Sub23
Discharge>10000
>20000 6 7 1 5
Discharge>12000
>30000 2
Source: Gosain, AK, IIT_D

18. The Indus System
In terms of infrastructure for water storage and irrigation, Indus basin is well developed . However, lack of proper maintenance and management of reservoirs and canal systems is seriously impacting the dry season cultivation.
Most of the available water in the Indus basin is already committed leaving only bare minimum for the environmental flows.
Indus basin is also one of the biggest groundwater usage regions and hot spot in the world. With such a high stress on water resources, the basin needs to employ demand management options to foster sustainable use.
Decrease in groundwater recharge and drop in extent of snow cover induced by climate change can have serious impacts on base flow.

19. The Ganges System
Ganges basin, in contrast, exhibits poor development and inefficient utilization of its resources.
Need for investments in bulk water storage to take advantage of the resources and alleviate flood damages.
River/ groundwater pollution and heavy dependence of urban centers and industry on the surface water supplies is a major cause of concern for future expansion.
Rich endowment of groundwater resources in the basin largely remains under-utilised.
Extreme climate events with large flood volumes and lack of storage structures may further worsen the flood regimes