Urban Water

Highlights

More than 50% of the world's population lives in cities, which also account for 70% of all CO2 emissions. They are also disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Safe water, sanitation and hygiene are pillars that improve the quality of life and enhance the 'ease of living' of people, especially in rural areas. In this regard, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) has made significant progress in providing drinking water and safe sanitation to rural households.

Urban development in all forms impacts the natural landscape, changing vegetation cover, infiltration rates and hydrological (surface and sub-surface) flows. With increasing urbanization urban areas lose a host of natural infrastructure and ecosystem services as ecosystems are modified, degraded and/ or shrunk.

Resilience of cities depends on effective functioning of complex infrastructure networks such as water, energy, sanitation, transport along with physical infrastructure such as housing, hospitals and educational institutions.

Over the past few years, it has become increasingly clear that centralised urban water management in this country is in deep crisis. Water supply is both inadequate and extremely costly, water harvesting and recharging and used water treatment and reuse are mostly absent and storm water management is a disaster.

Rural areas largely lack access to improved drinking water-sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) facilities in India. Improved WaSH facilities are vital to prevent the transmission of waterborne diseases and create resilient communities.

Levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2 O) continue to rise.

Bengaluru, once a city of lakes - is in crisis.

Informal housing caters to over one-third of the population in our cities, who cannot afford formal housing. Cities are known as engines of economy and this economy consists of over 90 per cent informal sector workers. However, housing requirements for these people have never got utmost priority by governments, post-independence.