The Hindu Business Line : Water-rich, yet over-stretched

WATER may seem too common a topic to write about, especially after floods have receded and the tsunami anniversary vigil has passed off peacefully. Yet, it is hot news all over the world.

For instance, Daily Times, Pakistan has a story on `Parliamentary committee report on water.' Daily Telegraph, Australia informs that Queenslanders have been `urged to save more water'. Pravda reports about unsafe water that 300 million rural residents in China drink. Stabroek News, Guyana is worried that water is inching away from Mahaicony.

Contra Costa Times, CA cautions, `Water shortage looms'. OregonLive.com notes that water tops 2006 list of city's to-do projects. And a press release from the US Department of Defense exults, ``Army Water' Makes Debut in Balad, Baghdad'.

"Water is free when it falls from the sky but the price one has to pay for its mismanagement is enormous... Water and not oil is the real driver for the robust and sustainable development of any country," write Ganesh Pangare, Vasudha Pangare, and Binayak Das in "Springs of Life: India's Water Resources," from Academic Foundation (www.academicfoundation.com), World Water Institute, Pune (www.worldwaterinstitute.org) and BIRDS (Bharathi Integrated Rural Development Society, Nandyal).

The book is a `crossover' type, as the preface concedes, straddling the academic and coffee-table genres. Thus, there is a whole list of references including official documents, URLs, and books, to whet the hardcore researcher's appetite.

Also, there are hundreds of photographs, such as of an iron removal plant in Tripura, mangroves in Goa, private sewage cleaning operators in New Delhi, fields in Ladakh, and a girl's toothy smile accompanied by an insightful caption that reads, `Hard to find bridegrooms for fluoride affected girls!'

The book begins on a positive note, stating that with four per cent of the world's freshwater resources, India is among the top ten water rich countries in the world. "Barring the continent of South America, India receives the highest average annual rainfall in the world." Yet, the country is `water stressed', frantically drawing water from the ground to meet "more than 90 per cent of all drinking water and 60 per cent of irrigation needs".

In 2001, India was classified as a water-stressed region, because utilisable freshwater stood at 1,122 cubic km, far below the 1,700 cu km prescribed as the international standard. Projections are that by 2025 we'd become a `water scarce region, with utilisable freshwater falling to three digit levels.

"Water tables have fallen by more than 5 metres in over half of India's districts since 1980 and in other parts they are falling by 3 metres every year," informs the book.

Seeking answers to the water paradox, the authors hopped into a `faithful Gypsy' and criss-crossed the country to log about 25,000 km during 2004 and 2005, with no fixed programme.

"Only a rough duration would be decided for the trip, even the route was not fixed, and much depended upon the detailed Lonely Planet guide on India and the road map book," explains the book.

"The idea was to stop and see things on the way, talk to people, stay in villages, and document and photograph interesting life experiences around water."

The book is therefore a tour that the authors lead us through, talking about water resources, supply and sanitation, and agriculture requirements, apart from discussing water markets and conflicts.

Informative tables have been painstakingly compiled, be they about threats to Ramsar wetlands, or traditional systems for drinking water, about water-borne diseases, or pollutants.

Outrageous facts

The book can shock you with the numbers and facts that it cites. For instance, are you aware that over the last four decades, Bapsa glaciers in Himachal Pradesh, located at an altitude of about 5,000 metres have lost 24 per cent of their ice cover? Or that more than 40 per cent of the country's utilisable water drains into the ocean from the Himalayan watershed comprising the Ganges, the Brahamaputra and the Indus?

How many unauthorised effluent pipes go into the Periyar River? Thirty, say the authors; and the river is dammed in 12 places "making it one of the most dammed catchments in the world".

It is depressing to know that apart from fertilisers and pesticides draining off from coffee plantations, sewage from Bangalore city gets dumped into the Cauvery, `the most important river in South India'. Yamuna has stopped existing, announces the book; for, the river carries sewage for 360 days, and for 5 days, it remains flooded!

We need to run our nuclear power stations, but the authors remind that uranium mining in Jadugada is `the biggest threat' to the river Subarnarekha.

One of the most severely polluted rivers is Betwa, which receives sewage from industries in Bhopal.

Damage can cross borders too; for instance, "the 100 km long Hudiara Drain, starting from Gurdaspur district in India and discharging into river Ravi in Pakistan which was meant to be a storm drain, now carries untreated waste containing organic material and toxic heavy metals."

Lakes fight a losing battle, with human activities gobbling up about 58.2 million hectares, of which 40.9 million hectares are under paddy cultivation. "About 3.6 million hectares are used for fish culture." Land development activities in Raipur (Chhattisgarh) have usurped about a hundred lakes, including the Barah talab that has a history of 700 years, inform the authors.

"Lakes in Hubli-Dharwad area of Karnataka have disappeared under markets, shopping complexes, stadiums and slums."

A different type of land loss happens when rivers rage on; for instance, "Assam has lost about 7 per cent of its land area to the Brahmaputra." Other numbers about floods are that annually they damage about 1.2 million houses, and that the value of damage to crops, property and public utilities annually average Rs 1347 crore.

Shallow tube-wells for drawing groundwater numbered 3,000 in 1960; by 1990, there were 6 million, one learns. "Places where groundwater has been exploited up to 85 per cent and more designated as `dark' areas."

Grey areas are where the exploitation is above 65 per cent. "Over extraction of groundwater and lack of recharge of aquifers in Kolkata is making the city earthquake-prone," alerts the book.

Morbid statistics are that 21 per cent of India's communicable diseases are water-related and that about 1.5 million children under the age of 5 die every year due to water-borne diseases, accounting for a big share of the 3 million deaths the world over due to diarrhoeal diseases.

"About 73 million man-days are lost due to water-borne diseases, leading to an estimated cost of about Rs 9,000 crore annually." Fluoride content in groundwater has lead to the crippling of 9 crore people, in 200 districts in 17 states. Iron in water leads to constipation, as people in Tripura found out. Iron contamination can be traced to corroded supply pipes too, explain the authors.

Lacunae, lessons and solutions

The authors highlight gaps in policy and practices. Water rights are not clearly defined, and water sources are not clearly demarcated for different uses and purposes, they write. "The State owns the water, but the groundwater is owned by the person who owns the land above it. Does the community own the water it has harvested in a community tank? And who decides how the water will be utilised?"

A major constraint in lake management, according to the authors, is the dual jurisdiction of the state as well as the local administration, resulting in the involvement of multiple government departments. Do you know that Bangalore's lakes were under the administrative jurisdiction of 16 local bodies including the Indian Army, before the formation of the Lake Development Authority in 2002?

There are lacunae in studies and statistics. For instance, "insufficient scientific rainfall data at local levels makes it difficult to predict and plan ahead for impending water shortages." Hardly any studies have been conducted on the impact on women of the lack of sanitation facilities, point out the authors.

One of the insights in the book is that losses in the pipeline distribution systems occurring due to pilferage are not instances of `unaccounted water' but of people who are unaccounted for, because they are outside all distribution systems.

Reverse osmosis solutions developed by our own technical institutions such as Central Salts and marine Research Institute, Bhavnagar, are not given due attention, say the authors.

"Sugarcane or drinking water, let's decide our priorities first," they exhort, narrating the story of Parner taluka, a drought prone region in Maharashtra. There, sugarcane is grown, and drinking water is supplied by tankers all round the year since local water sources have dried up. Simple solutions can help, aver the authors.

One example is of residents of the coastal town of Sawantwadi in Maharashtra. They have placed an urn called `nirmalya kalash' on the banks of the lake. "Religious offerings such as flowers, incense, and coconuts are now thrown into the urn and not into the lake." A solution may not yet have reached Sukhsagar village near Kandar, Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, where women stand for hours using their hand as a funnel to fill the water in the vessels because the tank has no tap! Ideal read to wrap the old year with!

Economics@TheHindu.co.in