Too much, too less, too bad? - Adapting to climate change impacts on water quantity and quality in the drylands of Maharashtra, India

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Maharashtra is with around 112 million people the second most populous state in India. More than 30 % of the state falls under the rain shadow area. In these drylands precipitation concentrates to monsoon season from June until September. While monsoon ca uses floods, the rest of the year cities and villages, industry and farmers, and the environment compete for the same scarce water and water conflicts arise. Changes in water availability along with increase in temperature could e.g. have profound effect on the productivity of water-intensive crops such as rice and sugarcane. Additionally the region faces problems with drinking water quality. Chemical pollution of groundwater is mainly due to salinity, fluoride and nitrate. Bacteriological pollution in ru ral as well as in urban areas is mainly due to inadequate sanitation. Population growth and urbanization are further aggravating these problems. "Too-India" seeks to predict the impacts of climate change on the hydrological system in the drylands of Mahar ashtra with respect to water availability and quality, assess the subsequent socio-economic consequences for related sectors and livelihoods and propose technical and non-technical adaptation solutions. The project focuses on two case study areas: Pune an d Satara district, where the problems water scarcity, rural-urban water allocation, and poor drinking water quality congregate. Combining regional climate modelling with bacteriological and chemical analyses of water samples, will allow us to predict futu re trends in water availability and quality. These results we will be matched with data about water demand considering vulnerability aspects and water allocation processes, to come up with sustainable technical and non-technical adaptation options, which will be discussed with the stakeholders. The storage of project results in a GIS and the development of a decision support tool, will allow the stakeholders to benefit from the project beyond the project period.