The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and its partners on Wednesday launched the third version of India Water Tool (IWT), a water-related data compiled from information provided by the government and other organisations.
Members associated with the project said that the tool could play a big role in improving water management in the country. While the tool will be accessible to anybody who wishes to utilise the data, the WBCSD said that the goal was to help people identify water risks and plan interventions for proper management of water.
While the first version of the India Water Tool came out in 2013, the second version was released in 2015. The third version includes data on water availability, quality and water stress indicators from the Central government, Central Ground Water Board and other organisations.
Providing granular data
Deepa Maggo, manager (Water) at WBCSD and coordinator of India Water Tool, said the latest version brings to the fore granular data. She said, “This data can be accessed and used by anybody through its website. It comprises data sets of groundwater level, block categorisation, projections, stress indicators and a section on localised data. It drives one to take action, whether at national, watershed or facility level. Going forward, this could be a movement and coordinated effort.”
While the latest version includes 20 datasets from key Indian government authorities and other organisations, it also features water stress models developed by the World Resources Institute and the Columbia Water Center. Satellite captured data for surface water availability from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Geological Survey has also been made a part of the version.
An official associated with the project said, “This data is dynamic. Such compiled data is important in today’s day and age. The tool has fairly granular data from two localised watershed level modelling studies. The data on water-related projections give a picture of the country’s projected availability and demand for water for these specific sectors and clearly highlights areas where availability is expected to be constrained.”
‘An important step’
Tom Williams, director of WBCSD’s Water Programme, said, “This tool is an important step towards water management in India. The nationwide analysis it provides allows for a good understanding of local water situations and helps build a comprehensive corporate water management strategy and stewardship approaches.”