This paper shows that, while total water available in the Lower Krishna Basin is decreasing, changes in the waterscape of the basin are being shaped, to a large extent, by local users. This study underlines that it is not only the availability of the physical resource that is crucial in explaining the evolution of water use but, as water has become a disputed and highly politicized object, waterscapes are also strongly shaped by the social and political conditions of a region (a state for example), the boundaries of which often exceed the area where water is effectively used.

This report examines aspects of hydrological and environmental feasibility of interbasin water transfers in India and forms part of the larger research project which deals with multiple aspects of the National River Linking Project. The study uses the water transfer links in and out of the Krishna River Basin as examples.

This paper summarizes research on the Krishna River Basin in southern India, including physical and agricultural geography, remote sensing, hydrology, water management, and environmental
issues. Discharge from the Krishna into the ocean decreased rapidly from 1960-2003 due to irrigation expansion. Annual runoff to the ocean fell from a pre-irrigation average of 56 cubic
kilometers (km3)(1901-1960) to 13 km3 (1994-2003), despite no significant change in rainfall. By the late 1990s, the cumulative reservoir capacity in the basin approximated the annual runoff