WATER

1
WATER RESOURCES
2
What is price you are willing to pay for these?
3
Water A Unique Resource

• Prerequisite for all forms of life.
• No Substitute for water.
• Reusable but irreplaceable.
• Most critical limiting factor in aspects like
  economic growth, food security, healthcare, etc.

4
Water in Our World
5
A small mathematical equation

• Total fresh water available 40,000 cu. Km
• Total population 6 billion.
• So, amount of fresh water available per person
  per year 6600 cu. m.
• Annual Per capita requirement 1700 cu.m (WHO
  estimate)
• So, is water actually scarce as we always
  complain?

6
Reasons for water scarcity

• Uneven distribution of water.
• Uneven/Unpredictable/Changing pattern of
  rainfall.
• Global warming.
• Pollution of various water bodies.
• Reduction of water table due to increased
  extraction.
• Inequitable distribution present in the society.

7
Scarcity of water in Cities

• Lack of water retention.
• Leaking taps and rotting pipelines.
• Bad sewage system.
• Lack of proper town planning.
• These reasons very well applicable to megacities
  of the world.

8
Water Usage Pattern
Sector Global Use use in industrialised countries use in developed countries use in India
Agriculture 70 30 82 80
Industry 22 59 10 15
Domestic 8 11 8 5
9
Usage of accessible water
10
Water Wars Why and where are these conflicts?

• Inequitable distribution and use of water
  resources.
• Arise when water is used as instruments of war,
  either as a tool or a target.
• Conflicts between industries and local
  communities.
• Inter as well as intra- country conflicts.

11
Water An Indian Perspective

• 60,000 villages with no water and still counting.
• Lack of safe drinking water leading to large no.
  of diarrhoeal deaths.
• Increasing population, disuse and disappearance
  of traditional tanks and ponds.
• Lack of community participation.
• Increase in run-off to the sea due to
  deforestation and non-availability of tanks.
• Extraction rate of borewells exceeds its recharge
  rate more than two times.

12
Solutions

• Transport of water by huge bags by sea.
• Towing of icebergs.
• Discovery of new, deep aquifiers full of water.
• Make desalination affordable using a cheap energy
  source.

13
Is there a way out?

• Reduce demand
• Catch rain whenever and wherever it falls.
• Adoption of decentralised systems of water supply
  and sanitation.
• Adopt fairer policies.

14
Interlinking of Rivers A Panacea???

• Estimated investment Rs 5600 to Rs 10000
  billion.
• High interest burden for such a high investment.
• Political consensus will it ever be achieved?
• River sources drying up and choked with silt.
• Water to be pumped uphill.
• Large scale submergence of habitats, forests,
  biodiversity, etc.

15
Success stories on Water Conservation and
Management

• Auroville, Pondicherry Reviving traditional
  water bodies.
• Tarun Bharat Sangh Building of Check dams.
• Ralegaon Siddhi, Maharashtra Construction of
  bunds and percolation tanks.
• And many more.

16
Bishop Cotton Girls High School - Bangalore
Pilot Project Planned Bishop Cottons Girls High School, Bangalore Pilot Project Planned Bishop Cottons Girls High School, Bangalore
Roof Area (square metre) 800
Rainfall (millimetres) 970
Rainwater Available 0.78 million litres
Rainwater harvestable 0.62 million litres
Investment Costs (Rs) 25,000
Savings from water harvested (Rs) 37,200 per year
17
References Websites

• Environmental Studies From Crisis to Cure by R
  Rajagopalan.
• Ministry of Water Resources www.wrmin.nic.in
• www.earthtrends.wri.org
• www.data.cseindia.org
• www.rainwaterharvesting.org

18
Thank you!!!
Abhiroop Chatterjee 2 Abhishek Ranjan
4 Dhirendra Pratap Singh - 13 Gautam Rajagopalan
- 16