Fetch a pail of water
Source: By Jaydev Jana: The Statesman
“There can be no subject more important for humankind than water. A well-managed society is one that knows how to treat its water with care, with prudence, with respect. Above all, with a sense of its being a universal asset” ~ KR Narayanan, former President
Water is a precious natural resource required for the sustenance of all living beings, to maintain healthy ecosystems and ensure food security and socio-economic development. Across the world, two out of six people do not have adequate fresh water. Debates on climate change have highlighted the threat to the world’s dwindling fresh water sources, notably mountain glaciers, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs. The World Water Development Report (2009) revealed that nearly half the global population will be inhabiting regions of “high water stress” by 2030; demand for water might outstrip supply by 40 per cent.
Fresh water can influence food security. The demand for food is set to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 (70 per cent by 2050). Moreover, owing to economic growth and affluence, dietary preferences are shifting predominantly from carbohydrate-based food to water-intensive ‘affluent diet’, such as meat and other livestock products. This dietary shift has had a critical impact on fresh water consumption over the past three decades, and is likely to continue well into the middle of the current century (FAO, 2006). There is an increasing demand for fresh water due to urbanisation, industrialisation and change of lifestyle.
In almost every continent, major aquifers are tapped regularly ~ often at a rate faster than at which aquifers are recharged. As a result, water tables drop at an alarming rate. The sources of surface water dry up. Groundwater (GW) depletion is severe in parts of India, China, the USA, North Africa and South Asia, and has led to an annual global water deficit of about 200 billion Cubic Metres (m3). In terms of the ‘Falkenmark Indicator’ (named after the Swedish hydrologist Malin Falkenmark) or ‘Water Stress Index’ ~ the most widely used measures of water scarcity ~ any country with less than 1,700 m3 /capita/year water availability is termed ‘water-stressed’; below 1,000 m3 /capita/year is ‘water-scarce’; and below 500 m3 /capita/year is ‘absolute water-scarce’. In 2006, about 700 million people in 43 countries were living in ‘water-stressed’ regions and the situation is worsening in China, India, and sub-Saharan Africa. In China, more than 538 million people are living in ‘water-stressed’ regions. In India, the per capita annual availability of water has declined from 3,000 m3 in 1951 to 1,545 m3, as revealed in the 2011 census.
Fresh water accounts for only 2.5 per cent of the total volume of water. The usable fresh water supply for the ecosystem and people is less than one per cent of all fresh water resources which are not evenly distributed across different regions. Mark Twain once remarked that ‘whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over’. Water resources have historically been both the objectives of inter-state conflicts and the instruments of tension generally among ethnic, religious, tribal groups, and states. In India, water conflicts have been reported from Haryana and Punjab in the north to Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the north-east to Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south. In 1995, the former Vice-President of the World Bank had warned that “if the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water.’
The water situation in India presents a baffling paradox. Jaisalmer, situated in the midst of the desert in Rajasthan, normally faces no shortage of water in spite of an annual rainfall of a mere 100 mm. However, Cherrapunji, one of the wettest regions of the world with an annual rainfall of 15,000 mm, faces an acute water shortage. Around four crore women travel more than 500 meters on an average to fetch drinking water. India gets adequate rainfall and its usable fresh water resources are around 1,150 cubic kilometres (Km3) ~ 700 Km3 of surface water and 450 Km3 of ground water. However, it isn’t easy to meet this demand because of the imbalance of water resources across the country.
Groundwater, the Common-Pool Resource (CPR), is the main prop of India’s agriculture and drinking water security. With an estimated 30 million structures, the country is the largest and fastest growing consumer of GW in the world, drawing an estimated 230 billion m3 per year, and facing a set of serious problems of both quantity and quality. The situation is often referred to as ‘groundwater anarchy’. This water is the main source of drinking water for over 80 per cent of the people. According to a report furnished by the Centre’s department of drinking water supply, several habitations have ‘slipped back’ from full to partial coverage. A satellite study by NASA conducted between 2002 and 2008 shows that GW reserves in northern India have gone down drastically. In north-western India it is going down at the rate of four centimetres a year. Over 109 Km3 of GW disappeared in the region between 2002 and 2008 ~ double the capacity of India’s largest surface water reservoir, the Upper Wainganga.
Even an area considered to be ‘safe’ in terms of quantitative availability of GW may not be safe in terms of its quality. Arsenic contamination has been reported in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, UP and Assam. In West Bengal, it has been detected in 79 blocks in eight districts, the worst affected being Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan and North and South 24 Parganas.
Fluoride contamination is another danger. In India, an estimated 90 million people, including 6 million children, are suffering from dental, skeletal and /or non-skeletal fluorosis. Normally, water in coastal aquifers empties into the sea. But sea water penetrates the aquifer when excessive ground water is withdrawn.
Most of the other fresh water sources are also contaminated with sewage and agricultural runoff. Nearly 75 per cent of all surface water in India is heavily contaminated. Over 170 million people do not have access to safe water. The World Bank estimated that 21 per cent of communicable diseases are related to unsafe water.
Water needs to be scientifically managed with a proper water harvesting system. This will call for efficient use of irrigation water, changing the crop pattern to less water intensive crops, recycling and reusing wastewater for industrial uses, minimising the wastage of water etc. The world will be a better place to live in, if and when the Right to Water is acknowledged by all countries as a fundamental entitlement. “Water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life. It is a pre-requisite to the realisation of all other human rights” (United Nations, 2002).
“There can be no subject more important for humankind than water. A well-managed society is one that knows how to treat its water with care, with prudence, with respect. Above all, with a sense of its being a universal asset” ~ KR Narayanan, former President
Water is a precious natural resource required for the sustenance of all living beings, to maintain healthy ecosystems and ensure food security and socio-economic development. Across the world, two out of six people do not have adequate fresh water. Debates on climate change have highlighted the threat to the world’s dwindling fresh water sources, notably mountain glaciers, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and reservoirs. The World Water Development Report (2009) revealed that nearly half the global population will be inhabiting regions of “high water stress” by 2030; demand for water might outstrip supply by 40 per cent.
Fresh water can influence food security. The demand for food is set to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 (70 per cent by 2050). Moreover, owing to economic growth and affluence, dietary preferences are shifting predominantly from carbohydrate-based food to water-intensive ‘affluent diet’, such as meat and other livestock products. This dietary shift has had a critical impact on fresh water consumption over the past three decades, and is likely to continue well into the middle of the current century (FAO, 2006). There is an increasing demand for fresh water due to urbanisation, industrialisation and change of lifestyle.
In almost every continent, major aquifers are tapped regularly ~ often at a rate faster than at which aquifers are recharged. As a result, water tables drop at an alarming rate. The sources of surface water dry up. Groundwater (GW) depletion is severe in parts of India, China, the USA, North Africa and South Asia, and has led to an annual global water deficit of about 200 billion Cubic Metres (m3). In terms of the ‘Falkenmark Indicator’ (named after the Swedish hydrologist Malin Falkenmark) or ‘Water Stress Index’ ~ the most widely used measures of water scarcity ~ any country with less than 1,700 m3 /capita/year water availability is termed ‘water-stressed’; below 1,000 m3 /capita/year is ‘water-scarce’; and below 500 m3 /capita/year is ‘absolute water-scarce’. In 2006, about 700 million people in 43 countries were living in ‘water-stressed’ regions and the situation is worsening in China, India, and sub-Saharan Africa. In China, more than 538 million people are living in ‘water-stressed’ regions. In India, the per capita annual availability of water has declined from 3,000 m3 in 1951 to 1,545 m3, as revealed in the 2011 census.
Fresh water accounts for only 2.5 per cent of the total volume of water. The usable fresh water supply for the ecosystem and people is less than one per cent of all fresh water resources which are not evenly distributed across different regions. Mark Twain once remarked that ‘whisky is for drinking; water is for fighting over’. Water resources have historically been both the objectives of inter-state conflicts and the instruments of tension generally among ethnic, religious, tribal groups, and states. In India, water conflicts have been reported from Haryana and Punjab in the north to Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in the north-east to Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south. In 1995, the former Vice-President of the World Bank had warned that “if the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water.’
The water situation in India presents a baffling paradox. Jaisalmer, situated in the midst of the desert in Rajasthan, normally faces no shortage of water in spite of an annual rainfall of a mere 100 mm. However, Cherrapunji, one of the wettest regions of the world with an annual rainfall of 15,000 mm, faces an acute water shortage. Around four crore women travel more than 500 meters on an average to fetch drinking water. India gets adequate rainfall and its usable fresh water resources are around 1,150 cubic kilometres (Km3) ~ 700 Km3 of surface water and 450 Km3 of ground water. However, it isn’t easy to meet this demand because of the imbalance of water resources across the country.
Groundwater, the Common-Pool Resource (CPR), is the main prop of India’s agriculture and drinking water security. With an estimated 30 million structures, the country is the largest and fastest growing consumer of GW in the world, drawing an estimated 230 billion m3 per year, and facing a set of serious problems of both quantity and quality. The situation is often referred to as ‘groundwater anarchy’. This water is the main source of drinking water for over 80 per cent of the people. According to a report furnished by the Centre’s department of drinking water supply, several habitations have ‘slipped back’ from full to partial coverage. A satellite study by NASA conducted between 2002 and 2008 shows that GW reserves in northern India have gone down drastically. In north-western India it is going down at the rate of four centimetres a year. Over 109 Km3 of GW disappeared in the region between 2002 and 2008 ~ double the capacity of India’s largest surface water reservoir, the Upper Wainganga.
Even an area considered to be ‘safe’ in terms of quantitative availability of GW may not be safe in terms of its quality. Arsenic contamination has been reported in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, UP and Assam. In West Bengal, it has been detected in 79 blocks in eight districts, the worst affected being Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Burdwan and North and South 24 Parganas.
Fluoride contamination is another danger. In India, an estimated 90 million people, including 6 million children, are suffering from dental, skeletal and /or non-skeletal fluorosis. Normally, water in coastal aquifers empties into the sea. But sea water penetrates the aquifer when excessive ground water is withdrawn.
Most of the other fresh water sources are also contaminated with sewage and agricultural runoff. Nearly 75 per cent of all surface water in India is heavily contaminated. Over 170 million people do not have access to safe water. The World Bank estimated that 21 per cent of communicable diseases are related to unsafe water.
Water needs to be scientifically managed with a proper water harvesting system. This will call for efficient use of irrigation water, changing the crop pattern to less water intensive crops, recycling and reusing wastewater for industrial uses, minimising the wastage of water etc. The world will be a better place to live in, if and when the Right to Water is acknowledged by all countries as a fundamental entitlement. “Water is fundamental for life and health. The human right to water is indispensable for leading a healthy life. It is a pre-requisite to the realisation of all other human rights” (United Nations, 2002).
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