Notes by Narsi

Only 18% of India's rainwater is utilized, rest being lost to evaporation and other factors

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/from-plate-to-plough-improving-indian-agricultures-water-efficiency/2222169/

On average, only about 18% of the total rainwater that India gets is utilized. The country receives about 4000 billion cubic meters of rainfall per year but utilizes only about 700 billion cubic meters.

For those accustomed to liters - A cubic meter is equivalent to 1000 liters, so India receives 4000*1000 billion liters of rainfall a year or 4 quadrillion liters per year, and uses only about 700.trillion of those.

/Intro

Section 1

In some Indian cities, rainwater utilization is even lower

If you thought 82% being wasted is colossal, here is some more news for you - in some cities in India, the percentage of rainwater unutilized could be a lot more - 93% for the city of Hyderabad, for instance.

/Section 1

Section 2

India is not alone in poor rainwater utilization

And it is not just India that is doing poorly in rainwater utilization. It appears that the record for rainwater utilization is not much better in many other parts of the world. It could be as high in California, as this report suggests.

/Section 2

Section 3

But plans are afoot to significantly increase utilization and decrease wastage

• Sponge City Initiative - An ambitious initiative in China, the Sponge City Initiative aims to capture 70% of all rain in the urban areas.
• Rainwater harvesting - Rainwater harvesting is the simplest and most effective ways for urban areas to increase rainwater utilization - At an individual residential level, a well designed rainwater harvesting system can divert upto 90% of all water that falls on the roof to storage.

/Section 3

Section 4

India’s rainfall equals 133% of all its water requirements

India’s annual requirement of water (for all uses) is 3000 billion cubic meters, and it receives 4000 billion cubic meters of rain. If somehow one is able to magically capture and use 75% of all rainwater, India in theory should not have any water problems!

/Section 4