Water Management

This book by Earthscan contains the global standard for ‘water footprint assessment’ as developed and maintained by the Water Footprint Network (WFN). It shows how water footprints are calculated for individual processes and products, as well as for consumers, nations and businesses. It also includes methods for water footprint sustainability assessment and a library of water footprint response options.

A shared standard on definitions and calculation methods is crucial given the rapidly growing interest in companies and governments to use water footprint accounts as a basis for formulating sustainable water strategies and policies. The current manual is an updated, revised and expanded version of Water Footprint Manual: State of the Art 2009, published by the WFN in November 2009 (Hoekstra et al, 2009a). This new edition has been produced after intensive consultations with partners and researchers worldwide. Directly following the publication of the Water Footprint Manual, all partners of the WFN were invited to provide feedback on the manual.

This approach is based on the integration of readily available remote sensing, national crop productivity and land use statistics and weather data.

The goal of safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation has not yet been achieved. The current practices of water purification are inadequate to produce secured water supply. Maintaining health protection at water supply systems has become more challenging with resistance of some pathogens to disinfection using chlorination and an increase in the immuno-compromised population (e.g., people with HIV, organ transplant patients, the elderly).

In this context, it has become essential to develop various tools such as Composite Correction Programme (CCP) and Water Safety Plans (WSP) to improve water purification and distribution systems, to achieve the goal of providing safe drinking water.

The quality of drinking water is a vital element of public health and well-being. The most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply is through the use of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer.

WHO guidelines on water quality term these approaches as water safety plans (WSPs), developed to organize, systematize and apply management practices in drinking-water quality.

 Even if an apartment uses as less as 5000 litres of water a day it must have a wastewater recycling system which does such a thorough job that the treated wastewater is reused to replace fresh water and not for simply disposing off into the environment in a safe way. It is simply not good enough for treated wastewater to be used for watering lawns, an unnecessary demand.

Though the overall fresh water availability at the macro level has remained the same, many regions, particularly in the developing world today experience large imbalances between the demand and supply of water supply.

This guide by the Water and Sanitation Program and the Ministry of Urban Development, is meant to enable municipalities and urban local bodies make informed decisions on sanitation technologies.

Poor sanitation facilities and the lack of sanitation facilities are a health hazard and exact a human toll on human health. Realising the magnitude of the problem and the resulting fallout, the Government of India has been increasing the funding for sanitation infrastructure via the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). However, money alone cannot solve the problem. Urban local bodies and municipalities need sound advice on technological options, planning and implementation to ensure that the money is well spent and the sanitation projects cater to the need of the target audience.

 This proposal prepared by Hoshangabad Nagar Palika Parishad, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Water and Sanitation Programme South Asia, is meant to ensure that every household in this town adopts safe sanitation practices and is to help enable the urban local body, implement a city wide sanitation programme that finally ensures collection and treatment of waste.

This document is the tenth mile stone in the process of achieving the goal of city-wide sanitation for Hoshangabad.

At the end of the show the students were asked to write briefly about the presentation. Amazingly more than 60% responded well and three girl students stood excellent and they have been awarded with prizes and certificates.