Foreword

The fresh water, which is so essential for life, is only a small fraction of total water available on this earth. India, although receives plenty of rainfall, still it is water scarce country mainly due to uneven distribution of rainfall over time & space. Water scarcity followed by degradation of its quality has become a serious concern for the country. Govt. of India has enacted several regulations to protect water quality from degradation.

The present document provides information on water resource of the country, major causes of water quality degradation, water quality status & trends over the lastone decade, initiatives of the Government to restore water quality and some of the important remedial measures to overcome the water quality degradation. I hope the document would be a useful material for decision makers, planners, academicians and all others concerned with water quality.