Water Resources

BACKGROUND

Water is a scarce resource, and life without it is not possible. Although water covers over 70 percent of the Earth, only a tiny fraction is freshwater, with 97 percent saline and ocean-based. This freshwater is threatened by significant forces, like overdevelopment, pollution, and climate change. It is estimated that by 2050 more than half of the world population will be living in the water-stressed area, and the world will face a 40 percent shortfall in freshwater supply within the next ten years. Water resources management is essential for the future of humanity and the sustainability of the environment. Thus, a proactive water resource strategy based on incremental adoption of new technologies is a priority of any government in the world.

Geospatial technology has multiple roles to play in water resources management. This includes river basin planning; water allocation planning; flood and drought outlooks, forecasts, and warnings; and the real-time operational management, and so on. Advancements in digital technologies are also giving a new boost to water resources planning and management. Robust sensors for in-situ monitoring; increasingly high-quality Earth Observation data from satellites and UAVs to provide synoptic views of topography, climate, water levels, watershed status, etc.; GIS to monitor and assess conditions, perform research, and deliver information; new analytical tools and Digital Twins to facilitate analyses are supporting decisions at all levels. Additionally, advance Cloud-based modeling, AI/ML, can help bring in automation and integrated perspectives to support decision-making.