1. Will nations really come to blows over water?
Although the absolute quantities of freshwater on Earth have remained approximately the same over time, the mismatch between water resources and human settlement continues to create growing problems of freshwater availability and accessibility. This problem assumes acute importance in places like Asia and the Middle East that are estimated to have 60% of the world's population, but only 36% of its river runoff - much of which is confined to the short monsoon season. It is estimated that two out of every three people will live in water-stressed areas by the year 2025. India is among the countries likely to run short of water in the next 25 years.
Water resources do not conform to political boundaries and in the recent past we have had states and countries fighting over water sharing. But on the other hand, the importance of water resources has been acknowledged world over, and governments are focusing on better water management technologies and processes.
2. A National Water Grid for India – a boon or a bane
India has sizeable water resources and receives a modest amount of rainfall annually, through the South West and North East monsoons. These averages do not reflect regional disparities and the country is facing a water crisis in several regions. There are spatial and temporal variations in the rainfall over India and this has resulted in some river basins having a water surplus and others having scarcity. It is not uncommon for us to have floods in some states, while others are declared ‘drought affected’. Against this background, problems relating to water resources development and management have been receiving critical attention. One project proposed by the Indian government is the interlinking of rivers, under which water from the water surplus river basins is transferred to those where there is water scarcity. The first of these is a link between the Ken and the Betwa and MOUs have been signed between the governments of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for the same. One needs to consider the environmental, economic and political implications of a project of this scale, and whether it will create more problems than it will solve.
3. Technology can help avert the water crisis in India
We have been looking at technological solutions for dealing with the water crisis that is being faced in different parts of the world. Water and waste water treatment technologies, desalination of sea water, technologies that help determine the exact position of leaks in water supply pipelines, drip irrigation…the list is increasing by the day. But is technology the answer to our current problems or is it a change in the social mindset where people treat water as a precious resource? Do we need to work on new technologies or revert to age-old water management techniques?
4. Water should not be subsidized by the government. All of us should pay the correct price for every litre of water that we consume.
Piped water supply and sanitation for residential consumers in urban India are heavily subsidized and do not reflect the true costs of treatment and transportation of water and waste water. This often results in inadequate services, usually to the poor neighbourhoods. The poor then end up buying water from private vendors at a cost many times more than the subsidized price the rich pay for treated, piped water supply. Is it high time that cost recovery policies are implemented? Will all consumers be able to cope with a rise in prices?
5. To protect our fast depleting groundwater resources, the Indian government should ban the sinking of private borewells
In almost all cities and towns of India, the municipal water supply system has not been able to cater to the ever growing demand for water. To bridge the gap between demand and supply, there is rampant extraction of groundwater by private parties. Coupled with inadequate recharge, groundwater resources have declined drastically in many Indian cities and there are no legislations that control extraction of groundwater. Should sinking of borewells by private parties be banned or should it be allowed since the municipal supply cannot meet the existing need?
6. Privatization of water supply will ease the water scarcity problems we are facing in Indian cities
The former UN Secretary general, Kofi Annan, was skeptical that privatization of the world’s water supplies will help resolve the problems facing more than 1.2 billion people who have little or no access to safe drinking water. Activists also feel that treating water as an economic good to be traded according to market principles would lead to ‘the swimming pool of the rich getting a higher priority over the drinking water of the poor’. At the same time, public utilities have been performing very badly in the water supply sector and many people have to rely on small time private vendors of water. Would large scale privatization of water utilities help bring in efficiencies and equity of water supply to all?
7. A non vegetarian diet is an obstacle to meeting the Millennium Development Goals of water
Embedded or embodied water in any product is the amount of water that is required for its production. It is generally recognized that non vegetarian products have relatively high embedded water per kilogram as compared to vegetarian produce. One estimate is that to produce one kilogram of wheat an estimated 1000 litres of water is used compared to 16000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of beef (Chapagain and Hoekstra 2004). But are we barking up the wrong tree while running down non vegetarian diets and do we need to focus more on better water management practices to ensure that we meet the Millennium Development Goals of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water?
8. We do not need any more laws to help control water pollution
In India, the first comprehensive legislation dealing exclusively with water pollution came in existence in 1974 (Water – Prevention and Control of Pollution). This was followed by the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess act in 1977 and the Environment Protection Act in 1986. How effective have these laws been in controlling ground and surface water pollution? Do we need more laws or do we need to ensure greater social consciousness and more stringent implementation of existing laws?
9. Water resources must be under the Central Govt and not under state control
In India, the ownership and control of water resources is generally with the States within whose territories the water basin falls. The Central Government has limited legislative and executive powers with respect to regulation, development and dispute resolution over inter-state rivers, but it cannot undertake a project for inter-basin transfers (such as the proposed mega-project for river-linking) without the consent of the constituent states. Different laws apply for different uses of water and there are vast regional disparities within a single river basin. Is this the best arrangement given the diversity (in every sense) and political set-up prevalent in India or should water resources be under the control of the Central government?
10. As much of the water demand by Indian urban dwellers should be met with recycled water instead of fresh water
India, once comfortable with its available water resources is facing the looming threat of water stress and scarcity. Most cities are not close to a surface water source and typically a huge amount of energy is required to pump freshwater to the city. For example, water is pumped over hundreds of kilometers for the residents of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. The country also has finite energy resources and is it correct to use so much energy to pump freshwater to a city. Do we need to take drastic alternate steps now? Should the ever-increasing demand for water by urban dwellers be met with recycled water?
11. Large dams help reduce water disputes
Water disputes result primarily because demand exceeds supply. Today there are many parties wanting a share of the available water – growing urban centres, farmers who are growing multiple crops to help meet India’s food demands, industry, power generating plants etc. Dams solve or at least reduce the intensity of disputes, by making more water available during lean season.
On the flip side, when a dam is constructed on a free-flowing river in one state, that state can control the outflow of water downstream. Rivers flow across state boundaries and places downstream can be affected by this action. This can lead to inter-state water disputes, which are becoming very common in some parts of our country.
Some links that may be of interest:
https://www.unep.org/dewa/assessments/ecosystems/water/vitalwater/21.htm#...
http://www.saciwaters.org/interlinking.htm
http://www.nih.ernet.in/water.htm
https://wrmin.nic.in/
https://www.worldwater.org/conflict.html
http://www.ielrc.org/water/doc_goi.htm
/articles/wartalap-water-debate