Water Literacy among Rural Households in Kerala: A Study from Kannur District

Abstract

Water as a basic human need is a limited natural resource and is very precious in nature. It is estimated that among 1360 million cubic kilometres available, only 0.2 million cubic kilometres is fresh water. In Kerala, 85 percent of drinking water needs are met from ground water. In recent decades human demand and misuse of water continuously increased and shortage of water is a global issue. The careless usage and less availability of water indicate the need for water literacy among people. The study revealed that rural households in Kerala are highly water literate and they ensured environmental sustainability as their responsibility.