Availability of a safe and reliable water supply is an issue in developing nations, including India. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is a site-specific source control used to satisfy human, agricultural, and safety demands for water. This study analyzed the effects of capturing rainwater for a 12.5 year period (Jan 1999–Jun 2011) to provide three ecosystem services: water supplementation for indoor use, water supplementation for food production and groundwater recharge (GWR). A hydrologic analysis was completed using satellite rainfall data and a water balance approach. Two demand scenarios, indoor and outdoor, were considered, with water in excess of demand and storage directed to recharge groundwater. An economic analysis quantified RWH system net present value. The results indicated significant ecosystem services benefits were possible from RWH in India. Contributed by the author: Daniel Trevor Stout ; Original Source: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1573062X.2015.1049280?journal...

Water use by plant communities across years of varying water availability indicates how terrestrial water balances will respond to climate change and variability as well as to land cover change. Perennial biofuel crops, likely grown mainly on marginal lands of limited water availability, provide an example of a potentially extensive future land cover conversion.

Groundwater is a finite resource under continuous external pressures. Current unsustainable groundwater use threatens the resilience of aquifer systems and their ability to provide a long-term water source. Groundwater storage is considered to be a factor of groundwater resilience, although the extent to which resilience can be maintained has yet to be explored in depth. In this study, we assess the limit of groundwater resilience in the world's largest groundwater systems with remote sensing observations.

Groundwater is an increasingly important water supply source globally. Understanding the amount of groundwater used versus the volume available is crucial to evaluate future water availability. We present a groundwater stress assessment to quantify the relationship between groundwater use and availability in the world's 37 largest aquifer systems. We quantify stress according to a ratio of groundwater use to availability, which we call the Renewable Groundwater Stress ratio.