Closing of the Krishna Basin: Irrigation, streamflow depletion and macroscale hydrology

Closing of the Krishna Basin: Irrigation, streamflow depletion and macroscale hydrology

Author: Biggs, Trent, Gaur, Anju, Scott, C., Thenkabail, Prasad, Gangadhara Rao, Parthasaradhi, Gumma, Murali Krishna, Acharya, Sreedhar, Turral, Hugh

Publisher: IWMI

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13: 9290906634

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Discharge from the Krishna River into the ocean decreased by 75 percent from 1960-2005, and was zero during a recent multi-year drought. This paper describes the physical geography and hydrology of the Krishna Basin, including runoff production and a basic water account based on hydronomic zones. More than 50 percent of the basin’s irrigated area is groundwater irrigation, which is not currently included in inter-state allocation rules. Future water allocation will require inclusion of the interactions among all irrigated areas, including those irrigated by groundwater and surface water.