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Indian Water Scenario: The Alarming Reality ‘Leaving no one behind’, the key promise of United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development says a clear message about participation and benefit of all for sustainable development. It also emphasises on a holistic and people-centric approach for water resource management. Referring to water, the SDG 6 i.e. clean water and sanitation focuses on universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030.1 The current situation on freshwater water availability is alarming. Growing population, rapid urbanisation, deteriorating water quality and of course, the competitive demands for freshwater and over extraction of ground water without adequate recharge have resulted in our global water resources being in a critical state. The misuse and overuse of water is affecting every continent.2 Water crisis in South African drought towns are recent warnings to the world.3 According to the United Nations Development Programme, 844 million people in the world lack basic drinking water. Water stress affects more than 2 billion people with the projection to increase. The world has lost 70% of its natural wetlands over the last century. Thus, high time has come to manage water resources for our future generations.
Indian Perspective India is among the world’s most water stressed countries according to the World Bank. Water availability today has fallen down to 1/3rd of what we had in the 1950s. China, on the contrary, has twice the amount of water available per person. The National Commission for Integrated Water Resource Development Plan has estimated an overall water demand of 1180 billion cubic meter which was 710 in 2010.4 Niti Aayog in their report has declared the current water scarcity as ‘the worst water crisis’ in Indian history where about 60 crore people are facing high to extreme water stress. By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply.5 This may have serious implications in terms of food security, farmer’s livelihoods and nation’s economic development. Over the past few decades, groundwater has been exploited exponentially in India. As a result, India is the second largest user of groundwater, digging out 25% of the total water extracted in the world. In terms of wastewater, we are not at all good enough to manage it. 80% of the wastewater generated in the world goes into the waterways without adequate treatment. The Central Pollution Control Board in 2015, identified 302 stretches along 275 rivers in the country that are polluted in 28 States and 6 Union Territories (UTs), considering the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) values – a critical parameter of water quality. In 2018, the number of such stretches has now been found to be 351 (BOD level more than 3 mg/l), 117 of them are in the States of Assam, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Water bodies with a BOD value of more than 3 mg/l is considered as polluted and stops supporting aquatic life with a BOD of 6 mg/l and above. Table 1 lists 10 most polluted water stretches in the country.6 Wastewater needs to be treated properly before it is discharged into the river systems. Government should strictly enforce the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’. The fines need to be so high that industries would find it economically cheaper to install waste waster treatment plants than pay the hefty fines.
Way Forward An integrated approach on water resource management is the need of the day to ensure our future water demands. Rainwater Harvesting: Securing rainwater either through groundwater recharge or through storage is the most immediate action. Massive campaign on rainwater harvesting is the need in our country. Improving Irrigation Systems: A shift towards adoption of more water efficient smart irrigation systems such as drip irrigation to manage the water demands is the need of the day. Managing Floods and Droughts: Knowing about the quantity, geography and flood periods in India, it is necessary to manage the water resources. Better flood management practices may result in scaling up our capacities in terms of water resources. Recycling and Reusing Wastewater: Wastewater recycling to meet the standard guideline values for effluent discharge is a must to follow. Adoption of new technologies for improving the quality of treated wastewaters is ultimately going to enhance the capacity of recycled water availability for usage.
References:
Dr. Ankur Sarswat
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