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Water Resources Information System (WRIS)

Provider
CWC (Central Water Commission) & NIH
Website
nwic.in/wris | indiawris.gov.in
Access Level
🟢 No Login for Map Viewer; 🟡 Login for Downloads
Formats Available
Shapefile, WMS/WFS, CSV, PDF
Coverage
All India — River basins, dams, monitoring stations
Key Use
River basin mapping, dam storage, flood data, water quality

What WRIS Contains

WRIS is India's most comprehensive water resources spatial database:

Layer What It Has Format
River Basins 26 major river basin polygons Shapefile/WFS
Sub-basins 101 sub-basins, 3237 watersheds Shapefile
Major Dams 5,745 large dams with capacity data Point/WFS
Medium Dams 19,000+ reservoirs Point
Barrages All major barrages Point
Reservoir Storage Live storage % (weekly) CSV/WMS
River Network All major/minor rivers Line/WFS
Groundwater Wells 15,000+ monitoring stations Point
Water Quality River water quality stations Point
Flood Zones Historical flood inundation Polygon
Command Areas Irrigated areas Polygon

How to Access WRIS

Method 1: Map Viewer (No Login) 🟢

  1. Go to nwic.in/wris
  2. The interactive map opens — click "Layers" panel on the left
  3. Toggle layers: River Basins, Dams, Monitoring Stations
  4. Click on any feature to see its attributes
  5. Navigate: search for your river/basin/dam

Method 2: Download GIS Data 🟡

  1. In WRIS portal → "GIS Data" → "Downloads"
  2. Select layer (River Basins, Dams, etc.)
  3. Login required → Register at indiawris.gov.in
  4. Download Shapefile or GeoJSON

Method 3: WMS in QGIS 🔵

Add WRIS layers directly to QGIS:

WMS URL: https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms
  1. QGIS → Layer → Add WMS/WMTS Layer → New → Paste URL
  2. Connect → Browse available layers
  3. Useful layers: WRIS:RIVER_BASIN, WRIS:MAJOR_DAMS, WRIS:WATERSHED

✏️ Practice Exercise

Exercise 3.5 — Map All Dams in Your River Basin

Goal: Identify your district's river basin and all major dams within it.

  1. Go to nwic.in/wris
  2. In the map, navigate to your district
  3. Click on the river passing through → Note the basin name
  4. In the Layers panel → Turn on "Major Dams"
  5. Count how many dams are in your district/basin
  6. Click on each dam → Note: Name, River, Gross Storage (MCM)

In QGIS (advanced): - Load the WRIS WMS layer WRIS:MAJOR_DAMS - Load your district boundary (from GADM) - Use Vector → Research Tools → Select by Location - Select dams within your district boundary

Questions: - [ ] Which river basin does your district fall in? - [ ] How many major dams are in your district? - [ ] What is the total gross storage capacity in your district (in MCM)?

Next Dataset: Groundwater (CGWB) →