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The World oceans cover about three fourth of earth’s surface. According to the UN estimates, the total amount of water on earth is about 1400 million cubic kilometer(m.cu.km). It is enough to cover the earth with a layer of 3000 meters depth. However the fresh water constitutes a very small portion of this enormous quantity. About 2.7 per cent of the total water available on the earth is fresh water. Of this, 75.2 per cent lies frozen in Polar Regions and another 22.6 per cent is present as ground water. The rest is available in lakes, rivers, atmosphere, moisture, soil and vegetation.
Water Uses Earth is the only planet, which is supporting life in entire solar system. Only 2.5 per cent of world’s total water is not salty. About 70 per cent of world’s water is used in agriculture to grow food and fibre. In developing countries and under developed nations, the usage in this sector goes up to even 90 per cent. In India, 80 per cent of available water is used in agriculture sector while 13 percent goes to domestic supplies and municipal needs and the rest of 7 per cent is available for industrial uses. Water is also used to generate electricity in Hydro power projects and thermal projects. The lack of data on fresh water demand and supply has created serious problems in water management.
Effective availability for consumption and other uses is a small proportion of the quantity available in rivers, lakes and ground water. The crisis about water resource development and management thus arises because most of the water is not available for use perennially and distribution of water is not even. Hence, importance of water has been recognized and greater emphasis is being laid on its optimum and economic use and better management. It is estimated that one thousand tonnes of water is required to produce one tonne of food grains. Every Drop of Rain or Water Counts.
Multilateral Attempts
In India and other countries, international organizations like United Nations, the World Bank, UNEP, WHO, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF and donor organizations from Netherlands, Sweden and other developed countries have been engaged in water conservation efforts. The rising demands in various sectors of consumption of fresh water resources of the world together with population explosion in the last fifty years is taxing the water supply agencies world over. The demand for more and more water supply has made the governments to meet on multilateral platforms to formulate water policies. It has also made the communities to think of newer innovations to harvest rainwater and conserve the available fresh water sources.
Contamination
While on one hand, supply of fresh water is a crisis ridden issue, keeping it safe for drinking and free from pollution is a greater challenge. Human intervention in nature has been so large that the two natural elements-air and water- are very easily contaminated. Discharges from industries, flows from irrigation activities adding chemicals into river streams, seepage from septic tanks and sewage has adversely affected quality of ground water and surface water rendering it harmful for animal and human consumption. In India alone, it is estimated that waste water generation was 110,000 million liter per day in 2000. Delhi city alone discharges 100 million gallon of untreated sewage into the Yamuna. Solid waste management is not lagging behind in compounding the ground water pollution problem.
With increase of human and livestock population the quantum of waste produced has increased tremendously. The estimated annual waste production from these sources is 2000 million tones (according to a projection of 1983-Vimal and Tala Shilkar). Studies on chemical composition of ground water in phrestic zone has revealed that in many cases, a enormously high concentration of Nitrate Potassium and even phosphates are present in contrast to their virtual absence or low concentration in semi-confined and aquifers.
Thirteen states in the country have been identified as endemic to fluorosis due to abundance in natural occurring fluoride bearing minerals. These states are: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Rajastan, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra. According to an estimate as many as fifty lakh people are suffering from fluorosis.
Water Vision
World Water Vision which is a framework worked out by international cooperation, recognizes that water is life. It says that every human being now and later in future should have access to safe drinking water, appropriate sanitation and enough food and energy at reasonable cost. Providing adequate water to meet these basic needs of every human being must be done in an equitable manner. The water related issues were discussed in the third World Water Forum in Kyoto, Japan in March 2003. The next meeting of World Water Forum is scheduled in Mexico in 2006. The Forum is holding periodic meetings to formulate action plan for regional and country level action plans for governmental and non-governmental efforts.
India Water Vision
The document on India Water Vision 2025 is based on Global Water Partnership and South Asia Technical Advisory Committee findings. The vision elements comprised, the availability of safe drinking water for all, near their households so that women and girls do not spend much time in fetching water, perception of water used for meeting the basic needs of cooking, drinking and hygiene. It also enlists minimum mortality and morbidity due to water related diseases, optimum use of water for irrigation as per agro-climatic condition, larger dependence on rain water harvesting , minimal pollution from industries and effective regional cooperation in sharing water and energy resources and effective governance besides decentralized management of water.
Projections for 2025
In the developing scenario of next quarter century, to ensure food security, livelihood security, health security and ecological security, the estimated demand for water for Indian population of 2025 is 1027 Billion Cubic Meters(BCM). To meet this demand, the availability has to increase by 1000 BCM as the supply was only 520 BCM in 1997. The task of meeting this demand is enormous because it is not only tapping the source, but to find money to fund the water supply schemes. It is estimated that 5000 billion rupees would be the cost of finding supply of 1000 BCM water!
Conserve
During the British Raj, repeated famines were reported in various parts of the country. In post independence era, huge dams were built to increase storage capacity for irrigation facilities. The water scarcity continues as the population bulges and newer issues related to environmental issues crop up. States have been engaged in water wars. Inter-state linkage of rivers to resolve the water crisis and remove recurring floods and droughts has been put on drawing board. But the greater emphasis is now on creating water literacy. The rain harvesting innovations, use of remote sensing space science technology to reduce injudicious tapping of ground water, mandating rain water harvesting in urban constructions are some of the measures that have given new hope for resolving water crisis. Because, human activities can only use up water. It cannot add even a drop to the depleting reserves. Hence, Every Drop of Water Counts.
*Science Commentator
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