Rainfall and surface water resources of Rajasthan State, India

The water resources in Rajasthan State are facing a crucial stage even after average/good rainfall. Temporal distributions as well as the spatial variability of rainfall within the state were investigated by applying an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. The effect of change in catchment characteristics and anthropogenic activities on overland flow are also investigated in this paper by applying a regression technique. Inflow to the surface water resources of the state is regularly decreasing. Time series analysis and sequential cluster analysis reveals that 1994 was the critical year, which divides the two consecutive non-overlapping epochs viz. pre-disturbance and post-disturbance. Due to increasing population and the subsequent increase in agriculture (specifically using groundwater sources) having increased catchment interceptions, there is a regular decreasing trend of surface runoff and surface water availability. The study highlights that, in spite of an increasing trend of rainfall witnessed during the last 100 years, inflow to the surface water resources of the state is decreasing at a fast pace owing to a decrease in the percentage area contributing to surface runoff.