COVID-19 Lockdown Disruptions on Water Resources, Wastewater, and Agriculture in India

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily activities across multiple sectors globally. The extent of its impact on the global economy and its key sectors, especially water, wastewater, and associated sectors such as agriculture, is still unclear. In this paper, the preliminary impacts of COVID-19 on water resources of India, especially on the river water quality, water usage in domestic and commercial sectors, wastewater treatment sector, and agriculture sector, are discussed. The limitations in the functioning of the existing system and management of water resources are identified. The need for improvements to strengthen the water resources monitoring and developing process-based models are highlighted. This paper also discusses the need for further investigation to identify the extent of impact and contributing factors to improve our understanding of the natural system for preparing, monitoring, and implementing the policies to manage the water resources during any pandemic/epidemics in the future.