The term ‘Day Zero’ was coined during the water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa. It was predicted that the city would run out of running water by March 2018. The city managed to delay this water crisis by curtailing non-essential water usage and diverting water from other sources to bridge the gap in supply. This article explores the state of the water crisis in India and suggests a few solutions to cope with it.
Freshwater forms an integral part of life. It is essential for sustainable development and to ensure food security, health, alleviation of poverty, economic growth in agriculture, industry, and energy generation.
The oceans hold nearly 97% of all the water on the globe but it is immensely salty. The ice-laden poles and glaciers make up ~2% but they face the threat of climate change and rising temperatures. Less than 1% is available for human use as freshwater in the form of rivers, lakes, and groundwater.
The United Nations outlines the need to ensure the availability of water and its sustainable management, along with access to sanitation for all in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)#6. This reflects the increased attention on water and sanitation issues in the global political agenda. The UN 2030 Agenda aims to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development worldwide by the year 2030, ensuring that no one is left behind. It lists rising inequalities, natural resource depletion, environmental degradation, and climate change among the greatest challenges of our time. This agenda reinforces the need for sustainable management of freshwater resources and ecosystems for social development and economic prosperity.
State of water in India
Closer to home, Chennai ran out of running water in its taps in June 2019 due to natural scarcity and overexploitation of groundwater. This was a serious water and urban planning debacle which left the city of ~7 million people without adequate water supply! Water was then bought in via trains but the threat of the city running out of water still looms overhead.
By 2030, demand for water in India will grow to almost 1.5 trillion m3 (1m3 = 1000 L) and the current water supply is ~740 billion m3.
Most of India’s surface water bodies such as river basins and lakes could face severe deficit along with the threat of pollution in form of industrial effluents.
The groundwater stock is threatened by pollution and over-abstraction in an unsustainable manner. About half of India’s groundwater wells have declined, and 21 major cities are expected to run out of groundwater as early as the end of 2020, subsequently posing a threat to food security.
The semi-arid nature of a majority of the Indian landmass puts us at a distinctly vulnerable position. The resource depletion is fundamentally linked to unsustainable practices stemming from bad long term planning, lack of effective awareness campaigns at the grassroots level, coupled with rampant unchecked infrastructure growth.
The paucity of water viewed through the lens of the current pandemic presents a dangerous scenario — only 25% of all households in our country of 1.3 billion have piped running water supply, making frequent hand washing a challenge.
Agriculture
Agriculture accounts for approximately 3,100 billion m3 or 71% of global water withdrawals today, and without efficient irrigation techniques, this will increase to 4,500 billion m3 by 2030. The water challenge is therefore closely tied to food provision and trade. Wheat and rice, India’s two major staple crops for Indians, are already affected by water-related issues. There exists a lack of clear differential water pricing for agricultural use. This, coupled with electricity subsidies that promote over-extraction/pumping of groundwater for farming, and unscientific matching of crops with the agro-climatic and water zones in different regions has led to a dire shortage of water.
India is a rather large virtual net exporter of water because of agricultural products. India exported more than 12 trillion litres of virtual water through the export of ~ 40.45 lakh metric tonnes of Basmati rice in 2015–16. Basmati Rice is a water-intensive crop and the water used to raise this crop could have been used to grow much larger quantities of other crops that have smaller water requirements.
Dams, interlinking of rivers and pollution
Numerous river interlinking projects, envisaged with the idea that the excess water in some rivers in spate during the monsoon can be diverted to other rivers will change salinity levels and monsoon patterns. Dams on rivers have caused a reduction in flow rate and course modification, leading to sedimentation and a reduction in nutrients carried by these rivers. Such drastic changes in the natural flow paths, water composition, reduced sediment loads, and associated environmental factors can seriously harm the ecosystem dependent on these water bodies. This impact on biodiversity can further impact migratory behaviour and routes and even drive certain species to extinction, all of which can lead to the destruction of biodiversity hotspots in the long run.
The sorry state of the Ganges river (which several Indian communities hold sacred) is evidence of the abuse meted out to water bodies in India. The Ganges’ delta and plains contain dangerous levels of Arsenic, a toxic heavy metal. The water is riddled with drug-resistant pathogens. This Arsenic intrusion into water has been linked to an increased withdrawal of water and the presence of pathogens has been associated with human activity.
The Ganges also suffers from a serious Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) threat. PFAS, also known as the “forever chemicals” are carcinogenic environmental contaminants and have been found in river and ground/drinking water of the Ganges River basin.
Water Mafia
The water mafia in urban centers procures water from illegitimate sources and supplies areas which ought to ideally have running water supply. More than 6,000 of these water trucks/tankers are currently plying in the state of Maharashtra, raking in a ‘revenue’ of INR 80–100 million/year in Mumbai. The water being supplied is mostly extracted from the groundwater reserves (aquifers), accelerating the advance to depleted groundwater. All of this is done at the expense of other users relying on the same underlying aquifer or water source. NGOs and governmental regulatory apparatus have been cracking down on pilferage and illegal water rationing but have had little success in stifling the supply chain.
Energy Production
Water shortage impacted 14 of India’s 20 largest thermal utility companies causing shutdowns leading to a loss of nearly INR 91 billion between 2013 & 2016. In 2016, coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy constituted more than 80% of India’s total utility power generation and it remains a major source of energy. By 2030, nearly 2/3rds of India’s thermal power plants might face high water stress which will severely hamper our energy production and economic activity.
The way forward
A simple yet unimplemented solution to this gnawing issue is better infrastructure — a correction to the rampant & haphazard development without planning or the foresight to put in a water distribution network with a clear tariff plan. We need to improve our land-use planning & zoning along with agricultural policies and incentives such that the policy-making & planning incorporates the regional water availability.
Metered water supply
A metered usage approach at the urban scale is the need of the hour. Most Indian municipalities divert water away from rural areas on the outskirts of cities to urban centers to meet the urban demand, creating a water supply differential. A stringent metered tariff for water consumption in these urban areas will reduce wastage and impose accountability on the average citizen and on the water supplier (to encourage curtailing of losses due to leakage during supply). Efficient water use at the individual user level in residential areas can be bolstered with best practices such as rainwater harvesting and the establishment of a sewage treatment plant to reuse greywater for non-potable use.
Environmental compliance & oversight
We need better enforcement of anti-pollution laws to control polluting of ground & surface water bodies by industrial entities. This enforcement needs to percolate down to the citizen level to curtail littering and deliberate acts of pollution. The corrupt practice of fudging the necessary clearances for residential and industrial developments further contributes to the water crisis. The permits/clearances are issued without ensuring an adequate supply of water for the establishment in the long run. Environmental and construction clearances should be withheld if the adequate water supply isn’t available or cannot be sourced.
Water availability in ESG matrix
Water use should be incorporated as a key factor in ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) evaluation of organizations seeking external funding. The policy framework should encourage financial entities lending to sectors that face increased financial risk due to water stress, water shortages, and scarcity to enforce sustainable use and effective water management.
Diversify energy sources
We need to diversify our energy sources and reduce dependency on non-renewables such as thermal power plants. Renewable sources such as solar and wind energy can reduce reliance on thermal power plants and create additional energy sources that are not significantly dependent on water for production.
Water Market
Adopting a water market system for commercial purposes at a regional scale like the one in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) will help in monitoring usage and add value to this resource. The system also creates incentives to preferentially allot water to higher-value needs. It works such that the total volume of water available for use is capped. The cost of water is influenced by changes in supply & demand for water and through allocation for use between agriculture, industry, and human settlements. It allows the buying and selling of water entitlements and allocations among different users based on preferences. Such a water market will solve the regional-scale water disputes and streamlines use according to the end-user. While India strives to increase local manufacturing and bolster its export, it needs to improve water use efficiency lest it ends up virtually exporting more water.
Agricultural changes
In agriculture, improvements in land and water management are needed. Sustainable groundwater abstraction, more ‘crop per drop of water’ achieved through efficient & smart irrigation techniques along with rainwater collection will help reduce water wastage. The type of crop sown should be matched with water availability and agro-climactic zones to ensure the best fit.
A collective sense of responsibility at every level is required to drive awareness and imbibe mindfulness to respect & conserve this precious resource. The success of corrective policies pertaining to a ‘freely’ available natural entity like water will be ultimately influenced by political desire and the prevailing socio-economic conditions.
The author is an experienced hydrogeochemist & environmental scientist. He has worked in academia, industry, and governmental departments across 3 continents.
