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With water available to agriculture set to drop by 21 per cent by 2020, there is an urgent need to enhance efficiencies, Dr M. Velayutham said.

Chennai , Oct. 6

DEMAND-SIDE water management with focus on conservation, efficiency of use and recycling should be given as much importance as augmenting supply, according to speakers at a media interaction on strategies for efficient water demand management.

Addressing the interaction at the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) here on Monday, the Director of the Madras School of Economics, Dr Paul Appasamy, said efficient management in urban areas was crucial since per capita water use was greater here compared to rural areas. Metering and pricing of water, preventing wastage through leakage and theft, in-house improvement in supply such as improved plumbing facilities that use less water and recycling need to be addressed. In many cities distribution losses were around 30 per cent.

Metering and water charges will help improve efficiency of use and generate funds for operation and maintenance of the supply system.

The interaction was organised by The Hindu Media Resource Centre of the MSSRF on the occasion of the World Habitat Day.

The Tamil Nadu Director (Environment), Dr S. Balaji, said the environment directorate plans to initiate a study of the status of lakes in urban areas. There is a need to protect these lakes, as they were crucial to enhancing water availability and ground water recharge.

The study would be a preliminary to pushing a policy decision on conservation of lakes. These water bodies were disappearing with increasing population pressure in the urban centres. Encroachment of water channels and garbage dumping in lakes were adversely affecting the environment.

The Pallikaranai swamp, for instance, is home to over 274 species of wildlife including 106 species of birds, 61 species of plants and 46 of fishes. These find a home on 400 hectares of swampland that remains of the original 4,000 hectares. Even the existing area was under threat, he said.

The MSSRF Executive Director, Dr M. Velayutham, said improved systems for irrigation needed to be adapted. With water available to agriculture set to drop by 21 per cent by 2020, there is an urgent need to enhance efficiencies. In Tamil Nadu over 20 per cent of the cultivated lands depended on 39,000 tanks for irrigation. However, their water holding capacity has dropped to 30 per cent of the original capacity due to encroachment and siltation. Over 560 tanks have become defunct. Regular desilting will help address the capacity issue.

The Chairman, MSSRF, Dr M.S. Swaminathan, said the foundation was pushing for establishment of low-water farms. These would be based on efficient use of water through mulching to enhance water retention and infiltration capacity, cultivation of hi-value and low water requiring crops such as pulses and oilseeds, use of low-cost green houses and fertigation where water evaporation losses are high and use of micro-irrigation techniques such as drip irrigation.

In urban centres water use efficiency has to be improved. Social mobilisation through better awareness, education and regulatory systems are needed, he said.

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