Understanding water in all its forms in every part of the water cycle is vital to ensuring its sustainable and equitable management. Whether there is a scarcity of water or an excess of it, knowing precisely the quantum of water, whether underground in aquifers, embedded in the soil as soil moisture or in numerous lakes, reservoirs and rivers is vital. Knowing where and to what degree water is consumed, in agriculture or water thirsty cities and industries is equally essential to encourage judicious use of the resource. Moreover it isn't sufficient to know the movement and quantum of water if that knowledge is in the hands of a select few.
The democratization of access to data of water we believe holds much promise. It potentially allows communities the possibility to come together for making decisions that impact both drinking water security and agriculture immensely. Many factors play a role in preventing management of water as a common property resource, however a paradigm shift in the availability of water resources data would go a long way towards addressing the problem.
Let us hear your thoughts on this exploration of water data as we blog updates to this site. Stay tuned!