Why do canal irrigation systems repeatedly produce head-tail inequality? Why do some farmers receive reliable water while others are systematically deprived for decades?

In this episode, Veena Srinivasan speaks with Professor Peter Mollinga, a leading scholar of irrigation and water governance, about the politics of canal irrigation systems in India. Drawing from nearly 40 years of research on the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal in Karnataka, the conversation explores the origins of “protective irrigation,” the spread of paddy cultivation, migration and agrarian change, groundwater salinity, farm ponds, irrigation reforms, and the political economy shaping canal systems across India.

The episode examines why irrigation systems are never purely technical systems, but social and political systems shaped by power, institutions, incentives, and historical choices.

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-peter-mollinga/

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, Anukriti Shaw and Nabina Chakraborty. Video editing by Srisabari Varaguna Pandian. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Oishika Goswami. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

California’s groundwater crisis did not emerge overnight. Decades of unrestricted pumping, falling groundwater levels, land subsidence, disappearing streamflows, and recurring droughts eventually pushed the state toward one of the world’s most ambitious groundwater governance reforms: the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Dr. Maurice Hall, Senior Advisor for Climate Resilient Water Systems at the Environmental Defense Fund, joins host Veena Srinivasan to speak about California’s landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA).

The conversation explores how California’s unique water rights system shaped groundwater use, why the 2012–2016 drought became a turning point, and how local Groundwater Sustainability Agencies are now attempting to balance pumping, recharge, ecosystems, and agricultural demand across the state.

Maurice explains the science behind land subsidence, disappearing streamflows, and groundwater depletion, while also unpacking how California invested heavily in groundwater monitoring, basin-scale models, satellite-based evapotranspiration tools like OpenET, and new approaches to managed aquifer recharge.

The episode also reflects on what India can learn from California’s experience. While the political and agricultural contexts are very different, the challenges of groundwater depletion, fragmented governance, and delayed action resonate strongly across both regions.

This episode offers a rare inside look into the science, politics, and institutional challenges of groundwater governance at scale.

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-maurice-hall/

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. Editing by Srisabari Varaguna Pandian. Graphics and artwork by Aparna Nambiar and Oishika Goswami. Audio mixing and mastering by Vijay Doiphode. Podcast production and management by Nabina Chakraborty and Pavan Srinath.

Why is water never just a technical problem? Who gets water, who loses access, and who gets to decide?

In this episode of the Water Data Podcast, Professor Margreet Zwarteveen, an internationally recognised scholar of water governance, irrigation, gender, and the politics of natural resources, joins host Veena Srinivasan, Executive Director at WELL Labs.

Margreet Zwarteveen is Professor of Water Governance Education at IHE Delft and Professor of Governance and Inclusive Development at the University of Amsterdam. Trained first as an irrigation engineer and later as a social scientist, her work has shaped how we understand water as a deeply social and political resource.

In this conversation, Margreet explains why every water intervention – whether it is a dam, canal, borewell, drip irrigation system or water market , all make political choices. Technical designs decide who gets access to water, whose labour is recognised, whose land and water rights matter, and whose knowledge is ignored.

The episode explores irrigation resettlement schemes, farmer participation, water titling, gender in irrigation engineering, the risks of narrow efficiency metrics, and the hidden politics behind “wise” water use. Margreet also discusses why women’s water work is often invisible, how borewells and infrastructure reshape water access, and why water governance must learn from everyday practices on the ground.

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-margreet-zwarteveen/

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 Nanditha Gogate 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.