WRIS Web Services — Programmatic Water Data

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Provider

CWC / NIH (National Institute of Hydrology)

Portal

nwic.in/wris | indiawris.gov.in

Access Level

🟢 WMS no login | 🟡 WFS login

Standards

WMS 1.3.0, WFS 2.0

Key Layers

River basins, dams, water quality, reservoirs

Coverage

Pan-India water resources data

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WRIS WMS Endpoints

Layer	URL / Parameters
River Basins	https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?LAYERS=WRIS:RIVER_BASIN
Major Dams	https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?LAYERS=WRIS:MAJOR_DAMS
Reservoirs	https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?LAYERS=WRIS:RESERVOIR_LIVE
GW Stations	https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?LAYERS=WRIS:GW_STATION
Water Quality	https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?LAYERS=WRIS:WATER_QUALITY

Full WMS GetCapabilities:

https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms?SERVICE=WMS&REQUEST=GetCapabilities

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Add WRIS to QGIS

1. QGIS → Layer → Add WMS/WMTS Layer → New
2. Name: WRIS India
3. URL: https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wms
4. Connect → Select layers (try WRIS:MAJOR_DAMS and WRIS:RIVER_BASIN)
5. Add to canvas

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Python: Get Dam Data via WFS

from owslib.wfs import WebFeatureService
import geopandas as gpd
from io import BytesIO
import json

# Connect to WRIS WFS
WRIS_WFS = "https://indiawris.gov.in/wris/services/wfs"

try:
    wfs = WebFeatureService(WRIS_WFS, version='2.0.0', timeout=60)

    print("Available WRIS WFS layers:")
    for name in list(wfs.contents)[:15]:
        print(f"  {name}")

    # Get major dams for Karnataka
    response = wfs.getfeature(
        typename='WRIS:MAJOR_DAMS',
        propertyname=['DAM_NAME', 'RIVER', 'STATE', 'GROSS_CAP_MCM', 'geometry'],
        outputFormat='application/json'
    )

    dams_gdf = gpd.read_file(BytesIO(response.read()))

    # Filter Karnataka
    karnataka_dams = dams_gdf[dams_gdf['STATE'] == 'Karnataka'].copy()
    karnataka_dams = karnataka_dams.sort_values('GROSS_CAP_MCM', ascending=False)

    print(f"\nMajor Dams in Karnataka: {len(karnataka_dams)}")
    print(karnataka_dams[['DAM_NAME', 'RIVER', 'GROSS_CAP_MCM']].head(10).to_string())

    # Save
    karnataka_dams.to_file("karnataka_major_dams.geojson", driver='GeoJSON')

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error: {e}")
    print("Note: WRIS WFS may require login. Try the WRIS portal directly.")

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✏️ Practice Exercise

Exercise 6.5 — Map All Major Dams in Your State

Goal: Create a map of all major dams in your state with storage capacity.

1. In QGIS: Add WRIS WMS (steps above)
2. Turn on the Major Dams layer
3. Right-click → Filter: "STATE" = 'MAHARASHTRA' (change to your state)
4. Style: Graduated by GROSS_CAP_MCM — larger dams = bigger symbol
5. Add labels showing dam names

Questions: - [ ] Which is the largest dam in your state by gross storage? - [ ] Which river has the most dams? - [ ] Are the dams clustered in any particular region? - [ ] Cross-reference with CGWB data — are over-exploited groundwater blocks in areas with few dams?

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Continue to Chapter 7: Visualizing Data →