Abstract

Declaration

۱٫ INTRODUCTION

۲٫ STUDY REGION

۳٫ METHODOLOGY

۴٫ RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

۵٫ CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

REFERENCES

Abstract

     Sustainable water resource management is the immediate priority as the rapid depletion of water resources is aggravating drought conditions in many regions worldwide. One of the possible approaches to recover from such a condition is through water resource balancing. The water balance studies require knowledge of water availability for various sectors’ present and future requirements to balance the water resource. The present study uses the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) for water balancing. It evaluates the soil moisture deficit or surplus with spatial and temporal changes for the Marathwada region consisting of eight districts for 1957–۲۰۱۷٫ The analyzis shows water surplus from July to September and water deficit from November to May. The study observes that the Marathwada is drought-free during the Kharif season and water deficit in Rabi season. This study analyzes the need for crop-shift to avoid crop damage during drought. Based on the analyzis, all the urban system sectors need to augment short-term and long-term policies to overcome the water crisis for a balanced water resource. The Self-Calibrated PDSI (ScPDSI) is calculated based on PDSI, which gives more freedom in analyzing the drought period.

Introduction

     Drought is a long-term phenomenon lasting from months to years, causing significant ecological and economic damage (UNISDR, 2015; WMO, 2000). It manifests the concern of depletion in surface and groundwater resources and crop failure (NAAS, 2011). There is an expected increase in drought severity and frequency with climate change (Vasiliades et al., 2011; Wilhite et al., 2014). The future projection of available water signifies the annually increasing gap between water demand and supply (C. Sharma & Sharma, 2017). Sustainable water resources management is one of the key aspects of effective water management (Van & Marques, 2012).

     Water balance studies are becoming vital due to the increasing demand for freshwater in the domestic, industrial, and agricultural sectors (Aquastat, 2011; Arjun, 2017). Water balance is considered one of the important components while planning irrigational schemes in droughtprone areas (Arjun, 2017). It requires knowledge of water availability for current and impending conditions for various sectors to balance the water resource (Sokolov & Chapman, 1974). It is calculated based on three components, which are potential evapotranspiration (PET), monthly rainfall, water surplus or deficit (moisture departure) (Arjun, 2017; Mintz & Serafini, 1992). The net change in the supply and demand of water define7s moisture departure (Mckee et al., 1993; Vasiliades & Dalezios, 2002). Supply is precipitation and stored soil moisture (Mckee et al., 1993), whereas demand is potential evapotranspiration (PET) and runoff. PET is the amount needed to recharge the soil, and runoff keeps the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs at a normal level.

CONCLUSION

     The Marathwada region is undergoing drought for past years, resulting in crop failure and water scarcity for other sectors. The approach used to analyze the water balance of the region defines the water surplus and water deficit of a region. The analysis shows the increasing trend of drought years shortly. The PDSI analysis shows the drought months for the period 1990-2017 have increased in number than the base year, i.e. 1957-1990. The soil moisture departure from April to September is high for 1957-1990, which is also affected due to the cropping pattern. The forest type seen in the Marathwada is thorn forest, where scrubs develop in dry areas with low rainfall. Hence, this study analyses the need for crop-shift to avoid crop damage during drought. Also, strategically changing the cropping pattern as per available soil moisture will reduce water resource scarcity in domestic and industrial sectors. Based on this analysis, preparedness and policy formation for the coming year can be considered since variation in Indian precipitation levels affects the agricultural sector.