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Water, Waste, Wetlands – for India

Water is a defining factor in affecting common people’s lives. Apart from water scarcity and remote access, most of the rivers and even the groundwater are contaminated. Water borne illnesses like diarrhea, dysentery, gastroenteritis etc are quite common and a major source of poor health as well as malnutrition particularly in children. Apart from that, our ground water is fast drying up and the specter of total dry up is on the horizon, maybe in just 10 – 15 years time. 

So what is the solution?

Now solving water problems is not easy and at least a basic three pronged approach is needed which can be defined around Water, Waste and Wetlands.

Waste

The reason most rivers are polluted is because traditionally most cities have developed along their banks and they simply dump their drainage and other waste into the rivers. For instance, Delhi has huge drains like the Najafgarh drain or the Shadara drain; where do you think they are headed?  To the Yamuna! Yes, they simply go and dump everything into it. There is no possible way to clean it. The solution lies in developing a drainage network that flows outwards to the outskirts of cities where it is treated and put to other uses.

Now waste management is easier said than done. Firstly a drainage system will have to be set up (The current drains are actually storm water drains). Waste to Energy is a complex process and also generates ash and other residues which will have to be dealt with. Then the treated water would need to find alternate uses – either in horticulture, agriculture, constriction or non drinking needs of the urban populace.

Water

To harvest rainwater, more lakes or dams are needed. In most cities, land is at a huge premium and is sold to builders for lucrative housing or commercial projects. So, demarcating land for lakes might be a tall order. But perhaps outside metros, where real estate is still cheap, lakes can be developed easily.

While a number of small dams could be built on rivers but they usually invite a lot of opposition from environment groups. One aspect is displacement of people for building the dams and another is releasing of waters in heavy downpour season causing floods in adjoining areas. Another issue concerns bigger dams – it is considered to be one of the man made factors in causing Earthquakes. I do not know how far this is substantiated but I do remember hearing that China’s 3 Gorges dam did probably cause the Sichuan Earthquake. And the dam also slowed down the water flow considerably downstream leading to algae development. So, a lot of pros and cons so far as the dams are concerned but they shouldn’t be ruled out.

The crux of our water problem is indiscriminate use in agriculture. Farmers simply pump out ground water for irrigation and water conservation is not even a remote priority. So larger farms that can use better technology as well water conservation methods like drip or at least sprinkler irrigation plus better crop suitability to local climate might help both water conservation as well as farms productivity.

Wetlands

Now, there can be just no arguments against this. Creating rainforests, wetlands etc. is the best way to harvest water and they add so much to the natural scenic beauty. They create beautiful habitats for birds and make for great outdoor and picnic spots. They would compensate for all the greenhouse gases we emit also. All along the river basin such wetlands can be developed. Unlike waste management which is a huge and expensive exercise, this is relatively easy. So, entirely ‘doable’ if we put our minds to it!

But the key success factor would remain public awareness and interest which in turn creates political will, especially in a democracy. So, awareness and interest generation through audio visual medium might help build a case for the Waste, Water and Wetlands cause that can really help uplift the living standard of common people.

So I hope we can log on to www.india and fast as water is one of the most stressed resources of our century.