Water Balance Study: proving how much groundwater a project actually needs.
A water balance study accounts for every stream of water into and out of a project, so that the groundwater abstraction applied for is the quantity genuinely required after alternative sources and reuse are taken into account.
What it is
The Central Ground Water Authority grants a No Objection Certificate for a stated quantum of abstraction, and it expects that quantum to be justified rather than asserted. A water balance study sets out demand by end use (process, cooling, boiler, domestic, horticulture, firefighting) against sources, including municipal or canal supply, surface water, treated effluent reused, harvested rainwater and groundwater. It closes the loop on the discharge side through effluent generated, evaporation and treated water recycled, and it identifies where the groundwater component can legitimately be reduced.
KIPL prepares the balance from design and metered data, keeping it consistent with the figures used elsewhere in the regulatory file: the consent application, the Environment Clearance documents and the hydrogeological report all draw on the same numbers, and a mismatch between them is the fastest way to a query. Where the balance shows that reuse or an alternative source can displace part of the demand, that is a stronger application than one seeking the maximum, because the abstraction sought is then defensible on the face of the study.
What you get
The deliverables, in hand.
- Authority
- CGWA guidelines · aligned with consent and EC documentation
- Typical timeline
- Days to weeks, depending on the availability of design and metered data
- End-use water demand schedule for construction and operation phases
- Source-wise allocation including surface, municipal, recycled and harvested water
- Wastewater generation, treatment and reuse quantification
- Closed water balance diagram with losses and discharge accounted
- Net groundwater abstraction justified for the NOC application
- Reduction and reuse measures identified with their effect on the balance
Straight answers
Water Balance Study: common questions.
01What is a water balance study?
It is a quantified account of all water entering and leaving a project: demand by end use, supply by source, wastewater generated, water recycled and water discharged or lost. It closes arithmetically, so that every unit of water is accounted for, and it establishes the net groundwater requirement.
02Why does CGWA need it?
Because the NOC is granted for a specified abstraction quantum. Without a balance, the figure applied for is an assertion. The study demonstrates that the demand is real, that alternative sources and reuse have been applied first, and that the groundwater component is what genuinely remains.
03How does it differ from the hydrogeological report?
The water balance answers how much water the project needs and why. The hydrogeological report answers whether the aquifer can sustainably supply it and what the impact of doing so will be. One is a demand-side document, the other resource-side, and the abstraction figure must be identical in both.
04Does recycling reduce the abstraction that can be sought?
It reduces the abstraction that needs to be sought, which strengthens the application. Where a project treats and reuses effluent, harvests rainwater or takes part of its supply from a surface or municipal source, the net groundwater demand falls, and an NOC for a smaller quantum in a stressed area is materially easier to justify.
05Is a water balance also used outside the CGWA application?
Yes. The same balance underpins the water and effluent figures in an MPCB consent application and in Environment Clearance documentation, and it informs zero liquid discharge or reuse commitments. Preparing it once, consistently, avoids the contradictions between filings that regulators notice.
06What data does the study need?
Process design and specific water consumption, headcount and domestic demand, cooling and boiler make-up, landscaping area, effluent generation and treatment plant capacity and recovery, rainfall and catchment area for harvesting, and metered consumption where the site is already operating. Where design data is provisional, the assumptions should be stated rather than concealed.
07What if actual consumption later exceeds the balance?
The NOC permits a stated quantum, and drawing beyond it is a breach of its conditions. If demand genuinely grows, the correct route is a revised balance and an application to enhance the permitted abstraction, not quiet over-drawing, which will show up in metering and water level reporting obligations attached to the NOC.
Within CGWA Groundwater NOC
Part of the whole route, the other components.
Primary sources
Check it at source.
This page describes CGWA guidelines · aligned with consent and EC documentation. The regulation and the filing portal are public, these are the official endpoints, not our summary of them.
Relevant proof
Where this stage has already been delivered.
Shapoorji Pallonji · Kanpur & Unnao, Uttar Pradesh
NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME
Environmental & Social Impact Assessment and EHS reporting for existing and proposed sewage treatment plants on the Ganga.
Where we do this
CGWA Groundwater NOC on the ground.
The authority, the timeline and the local ground differ by city. These pages set out how cgwa groundwater noc actually runs in each.
Featured projects
Work that carries its own evidence.
Our expertise
One team across the whole environmental brief.
Water Balance Study is one stage of one practice. Most projects need several, and the commitments made at clearance are the ones we build and maintain.
Who we do this for
CGWA Groundwater NOC reads differently by industry.
- 01
Real Estate & ConstructionCore
Borewells for construction water and flushing supply need a CGWA NOC through Bhuneer, and most Mumbai-belt talukas sit in semi-critical or over-exploited blocks.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Real Estate & Construction - 02
Townships & Area DevelopmentCore
The township water balance has to reconcile municipal supply, groundwater abstraction and reuse before CGWA will issue an NOC on the abstraction component.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Townships & Area Development - 03
Distilleries & EthanolCore
Fermentation and cooling water demand is high and the sugar belt sits in stressed blocks, so groundwater abstraction is scrutinised at NOC stage.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Distilleries & Ethanol - 04
Data Centres & IT Parks
Evaporative cooling makes a data centre a serious water consumer, and any groundwater component needs a Bhuneer NOC with a defensible water balance.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Data Centres & IT Parks - 05
Hospitality, Healthcare & Education
Round-the-clock water demand for laundry, kitchens and cooling usually means a borewell, and therefore a CGWA NOC with a water balance behind it.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Hospitality, Healthcare & Education - 06
Chemical Industry
Process and cooling water drawn from borewells needs a Bhuneer NOC, and the hydrogeological report must survive the same scrutiny as the EIA.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Chemical Industry - 07
Sugar Industry
Mills in the Krishna and Godavari belts draw groundwater in blocks already assessed as semi-critical, so the NOC case has to be built carefully.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Sugar Industry - 08
Industrial & Manufacturing
Units outside MIDC water supply run on borewells, and a Bhuneer NOC with a hydrogeological report is a precondition to consent.
CGWA Groundwater NOC for Industrial & Manufacturing
Trusted by
The organisations this work is done for.
In the press