What does water have to do with power, caste, labor, and economic policy?

In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Professor Trevor Birkenholtz (Penn State University) explains how political ecology helps us understand groundwater, irrigation, and large-scale water infrastructure in India.

Trevor Birkenholtz is a political ecologist and development geographer with regional interests in South Asia and the United States. His empirical interests are in water-supply development, water infrastructure, wetlands and the politics of environmental change.

This conversation explores how water systems are shaped not just by engineering, but by power, history, caste, labor, and policy decisions. How do subtle reservoir rule changes dispossess farmers? And why is urban “drinking water” often an industrial demand?

This episode is essential listening for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working at the intersection of water, agriculture, and development.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-trevor-birkenholtz/

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Recording by Vraj Acharya and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Vraj Acharya. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

In this episode of The Water Data Podcast, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, hydrogeologist and co-founder of ACWADAM, about groundwater science in India – from basalt aquifers and rural irrigation to springshed revival in the Himalayas and participatory groundwater management.

This episode was recorded in November 2025 on the sidelines of a two-day event celebrating the life and work of Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, marking his recognition with the 2025 International Water Prize by the University of Oklahoma. Because the conversation was long and deeply insightful, we’re releasing it in two parts – this is Part 2.

In this episode, Dr. Kulkarni explains how participatory groundwater management (PGWM) evolved in India, and why aquifers must be treated as common pool resources. He shares field-based examples of PGWM “models” in practice — from borewell bans and drinking water protection zones to borehole pooling and crop planning. He also reflects on the biggest external forces shaping groundwater outcomes, especially energy policy and market incentives.

Through this conversation, he explains why urban groundwater remains “hidden”, and why cities must treat recharge as a public service, not just an individual mandate. Finally, he highlights the major unanswered questions in groundwater today — contamination and depletion — and why groundwater science will always remain a field science.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-himanshu-kulkarni-pt2/

Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Recording by Vedant Ambrule and Tippana Chaitanya. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

In this episode of The Water Data Podcast, host Veena Srinivasan speaks with Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, hydrogeologist and co-founder of ACWADAM, about groundwater science in India – from basalt aquifers and rural irrigation to springshed revival in the Himalayas and participatory groundwater management.

This episode was recorded in November 2025 on the sidelines of a two-day event celebrating the life and work of Dr. Himanshu Kulkarni, marking his recognition with the 2025 International Water Prize by the University of Oklahoma. Because the conversation was long and deeply insightful, we’re releasing it in two parts – this is Part 1.

In this episode, Dr. Kulkarni traces the origins of his groundwater journey – from early memories of the first wells and springs he encountered, to studying geology and being mentored by an exceptional hydrogeology teacher Vilasrao Salunkhe. He then takes us into his landmark field research in Pabal in rural Maharashtra, where detailed well surveys and long-term measurements revealed how basalt aquifers behave, why groundwater availability varies sharply across the same landscape, and how farming decisions around wells, pumps, and crops change when water availability and markets shift together. Along the way, the conversation unpacks key hydrogeology ideas in accessible ways, including layered basalt aquifers, heterogeneity, anisotropy, transmissivity, storage, and why some wells are productive only seasonally while others sustain longer.

They also discuss groundwater decline, cropping pattern changes, watershed development, spring revival programmes, community water governance, urban groundwater challenges, and why trust and local knowledge cannot be scaled like physical infrastructure. The episode reflects on groundwater as a shared commons and introduces the broader arc of Dr. Kulkarni’s work – from the watershed movement and the emerging groundwater crisis to the practice-driven approach that later shaped ACWADAM’s capacity building efforts and participatory groundwater management in India.

The Water Data Podcast is a talk show on the science, systems, and stories of water hosted by Veena Srinivasan.

For all references and further readings related to the episode, visit https://welllabs.org/wdp-himanshu-kulkarni-pt1/

Subscribe to The Water Data Podcast on your favourite podcast app – and catch video episodes on the WELL Labs YouTube channel @welllabs.

Subscription links: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Audible, Castbox, and wherever you get your podcasts!

Recording by Vedant Ambrule and Tippana Chaitanya. Video editing by Nabina Chakraborty. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Kanishka Goyal. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.