Events & Issues
New Delhi, 28 May 2013
Water Contamination
SERIOUS THREAT AND DEPLETING
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
Water management is becoming a
crucial challenge today. The lack of clean water supply in urban areas has
engulfed major parts of the country and led to a spurt in water-related
disease. Worse, even groundwater is unfit for drinking, a shocking fact
confessed by the Government to Parliament recently. In a reply to a question,
it confessed that iron levels are higher than the prescribed in 254 districts
and the fluoride levels have breached the safe level in 224 districts.
Equally scandalous, the Government
admitted that salinity had risen beyond tolerance levels in 162 districts while
arsenic levels were higher than permissible limits in 34 districts. The worst
hit were Rajasthan, Karnataka and Gujarat in
which 21 of its 26 districts have dangerous salinity levels and 18 breached
safe fluoride stages.
In Karnataka 21 of its 31 districts
are contaminated with iron and 20 with higher fluoride levels. In Rajasthan 30
districts had higher fluoride levels, in 27 groundwater was too saline and 20
districts suffered iron contamination, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)
reported.
More shocking, National Capital Delhi
fared no better, with 5 districts showing fluoride contamination and two
salinity. Eastern West Bengal’s 11-12
districts have high arsenic levels as do many other States.
This apart, developing countries
like India
discharge effluents to the surface water without treating it or with little
treatment due to technological and economic limitations. Also, colours affect water’s
nature, inhibit sunlight penetration and reduce photosynthetic action. Some of
the dyes cause rapid depletion of dissolved oxygen, adversely affecting aquatic
life.
Thus, water treatment systems have
become imperative before supplying H2O to homes. Alas, municipalities are not
equipped to remove heavy metals like arsenic resulting in the chances of
contamination remaining. Moreover, water treatment costs are increasing and
most municipalities with limited resources are unable to carry out the work
without levying water tax.
Add to this, the rise in demand
availability of fresh water reserves has become a severe problem which would
have fatal consequences in the coming years. Whereby, the per capita
consumption is expected to double from 89 litres per day in 2000 to 167 litres
per day in 2050, thereby increasing total consumption to such a position that
the country might become ‘water stressed’ by 2016-17.
Pertinently, India’s
utilizable surface water is estimated at 690 BCM and the replenishable
groundwater resources of 422 BCM, totalling 1122 BCM. According to estimates,
given the population growth, urbanization and industrialisation the use of gross
water which was estimated at 522 BCM, jumped to 750 BCM in 2000 and is expected
to reach 1050 BCM by 2025.
Besides, approximately 40 per cent available water resources
are considered utilizable due to many factors. Think. Two-thirds of the
country’s renewable water is in areas that serve only a third of its population
and only around 30 per cent of the wastewater generated in metropolitan cities
is treated. And this is just the domestic water.
To top it all, there is poor treatment of industrial waste water,
water pollution etc. Around 6.2 billion litres of untreated industrial waste water
is generated every day across India,
polluting not only rivers and its tributaries but also canals and seeping into
groundwater sources.
Undeniably, the increasing demand
for water combined with low levels of treatment facilities available in the
country pose a big problem resulting in severe consequences on health, especially
of children. According to UNICEF estimates, 88 per cent of childhood fatalities
are caused by inadequate sanitation, unsafe drinking water with poor hygiene. Appallingly,
around 76 million people do not have access to safe drinking water while 245
million lack proper sanitation facilities.
A study by Jadavpur University
and the Kolkata Environmental Improvement Project (KEIP) found the demand-supply
ratio could drop to 100:75 from the present 101:125 by 2025. Notwithstanding, the
computed subsistence level of household water consumption to be 55 cubic metres
per day, in reality the average usage is higher, between 150-200 cubic metres
and much of it is wasted.
Importantly, India needs a
policy to reduce the wastage quantum especially in cities. This needs to be
checked. To identify these areas, it is necessary to monitor this along-with motivating
people to avoid wasting water. The time
has come for water rationing, especially during summer months.
Indeed, the challenges in the water
sector are too serious which need re-thinking and examination by experts at the
highest level. Logically, the quantity of blue (fresh surface or groundwater)
and green water (rainfall that does not peter away or recharge groundwater) is
difficult to adjust whereby the quality should be improved through legislative
and monitoring measures such as protection from overuse, depletion and
pollution.
The re-use of grey water (waste water
generated from household usage) has immense room for improvement. Its recycling
would help fulfil two objectives: Not pollute canals and water sources in rural
areas and post cleaning it could be used for non-potable purposes. Thereby, separating
grey from households and taking it back into homes after treatment for re-using
would not only help the environment but also make better use of our precious fresh
water reserves. In fact, this procedure has been adopted by many Western
countries with great
success.
Experts feel that a higher allocation close to 4 per cent of
the GDP, on water supply, sanitation and public health sector is imperative.
Along-side water consumption by everybody should be judicious but most
important is water management and supply. Therein, water intensive industry and
H2O intensive agriculture might need to be curtailed but popularized recycling
options and incentives should be adopted.
In sum, one is reminded of the Water Vision 2025 report
prepared by India Water Partnership (IWP 2000), which underscored the emerging
challenges due to growing urbanization and industrialization. It surmised that by
2025 there would be a serious threat to health and ecological security.
The prescription for averting the crisis, it added were
taking seven measures. One, private sector participation in water management;
two, promotion of watershed management which are proven to be effective in
recharging groundwater, soil fertility and enhancing productivity; three,
stricter enforcement of environmental laws. Four, specific and stringent steps
in pollution control; five, promotion of water conservation policies,
especially of rivers, lakes and coast lines; six, changing agricultural
practices to reduce non-profit pollution and lastly, large investments in this
sector. Any takers? -----INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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