First Water Bodies Census: Basin wise Distribution of Water Bodies by type

The dataset consists of the distribution of water bodies by type across different basins in the country as enumerated in the first Census on Water Bodies in India. ater bodies have been defined as ‘all natural or man-made units bounded on all sides with some or no masonry work used for storing water for irrigation or other purposes like industrial, pisciculture, domestic/drinking, recreation, religious, ground water recharge etc.’ These water bodies are typically of various types and known by different names such as tanks, reservoirs, ponds and bundhies, among others. A structure where water from ice-melt, streams, springs, rain, or drainage of water from residential or other areas is accumulated or water is stored by diversion from a stream, nala or river has also been treated as water body. Oceans, lagoons, rivers, spring, waterfall, etc which are free flowing without any bounded storage have been excluded in the census. Water tanks and temporary water bodies created for household usage, cattle, and factories have also been excluded.