THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It’s just the beginning of summer and the state has already started feeling the heat, literally. As Kerala braces for yet another harsh season, a recent study has identified 2,567 local body wards across the state as water-stressed.
The study sanctioned by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has revealed alarming levels of water scarcity in the state, with some districts experiencing severe drought conditions during summer months.
Kasaragod experiences the highest level of water stress, with 24.74% of the district’s area severely affected by drought conditions. This is followed by Thiruvananthapuram (22.01%), Kozhikode (20.48%) and Pathanamthitta (20.72%). Nearly a quarter of the panchayats in these districts face severe water scarcity during summer. The survey was done in 21,472 local body wards across the state.
The study — Identification of Water Stress Hotspots for Domestic Use Across Kerala — conducted by Centre for Water Resources Development and Management, Kerala Forest Research Institute and Institute of Climate Change Studies has identified stark regional disparities in water scarcity levels.
‘Regionalised plans, intervention required to overcome water crisis’
The study focused on identifying water-stressed panchayats across the state through a two-stage survey and developed a Water Poverty Index (WPI). KSCSTE has submitted the report to the state planning board for approval.
The survey found that many panchayats fall under the ‘poor’ to ‘average’ categories in terms of water availability, indicating significant vulnerabilities.
As per the study, ensuring water availability is becoming challenging as key sources such as open wells, borewells, rivers, and municipal supplies become increasingly unreliable due to over-extraction, poor infrastructure, and climate-induced fluctuations in rainfall.
CWRDM executive director Manoj P Samuel told TNIE that the report was drawn up based on comprehensive field surveys and studies by various scientific agencies. “Each region has different kinds of issues, and regionalised plans and intervention are required to overcome the water crisis during summer months.
The local self-government institutions can act on this report and form working groups at block level and come up with long, medium and short-term solutions to resolve the crisis,” said Manoj.
K Rajendran, director of Institute of Climate Change Studies, said the study report will help the government carry out better water management during summer.
“Now, we have a better idea on water stressed regions in the state and the local bodies and the Kerala Water Authority can focus particularly on these areas during summer. This will help save a lot of time and increase preparedness during summer,” said Rajendran. He said coordinated efforts from various agencies should come to bring long-term solutions to resolve the water crisis.