Water Scarcity: A Technical Assessment for Improved Resource Utilization in a Rural Indian Village

Global water scarcity is one of the most challenging problems agriculture is facing. A 2012 World Bank report on India Groundwater identified India as the highest consumer of groundwater in the world, spurred by its availability and subsidized cost. India faces the dilemma of regulating the insatiable demand for groundwater, while replenishing its sources. Extensive surveys of a village in the southern India State of Andhra Pradesh, revealed that water scarcity is causing hunger, affecting human health and ensuing in poverty. This paper is a report on studies of the community's water usage patterns and its grim ground groundwater situation. We use Participatory Rural Appraisal and Human Centered Design methods to understand and analyze the challenges faced by the people. Based on these studies, we propose an IoT (Internet of Things) based groundwater and water distribution monitoring system, an IoT based weather station, aquifer recharge and atmospheric water generation solutions. Our study proposes a holistic method towards mitigating the problem.