Preface
Water is the elixir of life, and life cannot thrive without the sustainability of water
resources. Due to the galloping rise in population and proliferation of agriculture
and industry, demand for water has increased drastically. Pollution of the land and
water bodies has caused health hazards and has put life under threat. Ongoing
climate change also has a significant impact on the hydrosphere resulting in
frequent occurrence of extreme events such as flood and drought causing negative
impacts on socio-economic, agricultural, and environmental spheres. High water
demand and low water supply due to intense, frequent, or prolonged droughts have
resulted in acute water scarcity in many parts of the world leading to mass
migration and famine. In the Himalayan basins too, changing climate has increased
the threat of flash flood, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), and low spring
discharge. Thus, the security and sustainability of water resources are under acute
risk. Thorough research, proper planning, and effective management of water
resources are the need of the hour to ensure its safety, security, and sustainability, to
overcome the risks and threats of extreme hydrological events, and to avoid
hydrological disasters.
This publication is the outcome of Down to Earth–2019: Water Security and
Sustainability, the first International Conference organised by the Department of
Civil Engineering of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology located in Sikkim,
India. The conference involved academicians, researchers, eminent scientists, and
students in brain-storming sessions. Majority of the participants were young
researchers, who presented their research overviews, as well as discussed and
debated on water-related problems and solutions.
Selected peer-reviewed manuscripts presented in this conference have been
shortlisted for this publication. The shortlisted manuscripts cover a wide range of
general topics such as error estimation in rainfall, rainfall–run-off modelling, water
quality assessment, arsenic contamination in groundwater, flood characterisation,
flood hazard mapping as well as innovative and not so conventional topics like
IOT-based water management for smart cities, quantification and characterisation of
micro-plastics in freshwater, applications of nanotechnology for degradation of
textile effluents in water, removal of organic matters from water using bio-balls,
vii
Water is the elixir of life, and life cannot thrive without the sustainability of water
resources. Due to the galloping rise in population and proliferation of agriculture
and industry, demand for water has increased drastically. Pollution of the land and
water bodies has caused health hazards and has put life under threat. Ongoing
climate change also has a significant impact on the hydrosphere resulting in
frequent occurrence of extreme events such as flood and drought causing negative
impacts on socio-economic, agricultural, and environmental spheres. High water
demand and low water supply due to intense, frequent, or prolonged droughts have
resulted in acute water scarcity in many parts of the world leading to mass
migration and famine. In the Himalayan basins too, changing climate has increased
the threat of flash flood, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), and low spring
discharge. Thus, the security and sustainability of water resources are under acute
risk. Thorough research, proper planning, and effective management of water
resources are the need of the hour to ensure its safety, security, and sustainability, to
overcome the risks and threats of extreme hydrological events, and to avoid
hydrological disasters.
This publication is the outcome of Down to Earth–2019: Water Security and
Sustainability, the first International Conference organised by the Department of
Civil Engineering of Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology located in Sikkim,
India. The conference involved academicians, researchers, eminent scientists, and
students in brain-storming sessions. Majority of the participants were young
researchers, who presented their research overviews, as well as discussed and
debated on water-related problems and solutions.
Selected peer-reviewed manuscripts presented in this conference have been
shortlisted for this publication. The shortlisted manuscripts cover a wide range of
general topics such as error estimation in rainfall, rainfall–run-off modelling, water
quality assessment, arsenic contamination in groundwater, flood characterisation,
flood hazard mapping as well as innovative and not so conventional topics like
IOT-based water management for smart cities, quantification and characterisation of
micro-plastics in freshwater, applications of nanotechnology for degradation of
textile effluents in water, removal of organic matters from water using bio-balls,
vii