Water Resilience: What Are We Not Getting Right?

We have grown up hearing the ancient wisdom, "Water is life, and clean water is health." The recent water stress that cities all over the country, and very palpably Bengaluru, is facing indicates that our life and our health are at risk. At any time, in want of water, our electrocardiogram graph can go flat into a straight line. The demand for water has exceeded the available amount of water. 1.2 billion people, one in every seven persons, across the globe spend their day searching or waiting for water. Can we bounce back? The answer is in building and maintaining a blue-green infrastructure.

In a region, if the amount of renewable water per person is below 1,700 m3, the country is said to be experiencing water stress. If it is below 1,000 m3, it is said to be experiencing water scarcity. And if it is below 500 m3, it is experiencing absolute water scarcity. We are not yet at absolute water scarcity level; but indications are that our negligence, indifference and lack of initiative will reach us there very soon.

This year, the first city in India to hit the panic button is Bengaluru. But it hasn’t come as a surprise. The city has experienced a sharp 1,055 per cent rise in built-up areas in last five decades. This population increase is primarily driven by migration driven factors such as job opportunities, resource availability and an improved quality of life. As early as 2014, warnings were issued about rising temperatures, the disappearance of green cover and constant water scarcity in Bengaluru due to the expanding built-up areas, but there was no action about it. Similar may be the state of affairs of most cities. 256 of 700 districts in India have reported critical or overexploited groundwater levels according to the most recent study of the Central Ground Water Board. Wells, ponds, and tanks are drying up as groundwater resources come under increasing pressure due to over-reliance and unsustainable consumption.

Blue-Green Infrastructure Is the Key

Growing populations, mindless real estate activities, irresponsible use of water, and added rapid urbanisation and rapid expansion of cities, there is a large influx of migrants from rural areas to cities. It has caused an increase in the per capita use of water in cities; the per capita use is steadily increasing every year; thus cities are on catch up mode constantly. City authorities most often manage it by transferring water from rural reservoirs to urban areas to meet the deficit. Considering the downward trend of water level in urban areas, it is likely that cities will rely heavily on rural areas for water supply in the future, which may spark a rural-urban conflict.

There are many ways to tackle water scarcity in the cities. Some are tried and did have repercussions. Building huge dams was one of them. Connecting rivers is another way. These both invariably serve the rich and capitalists at the expense of the less fortunate people who get displaced, their farmland being submerged, etc. water becomes a commodity to be enjoyed by the rich. Dr Veena Sreenivasan, the Executive Director of WELL (Water, Environment, Land and Livelihoods) Labs, Bengaluru in a podcast with The Hindu, categorically upheld the need for building up blue green infrastructure.

Blue infrastructure refers to identifying, building, protecting, and recharging our lakes, rivers, canals, ponds, wetlands, and other water bodies. As of now most of our lakes and water bodies are either encroached or are filled with sewage waste and muck. Thus even the normal and default harvesting and catchment of storm water is not taking place.

Green infrastructure refers to building and defending, green patches, gardens with trees, water harvesting pits, etc. from where water can infiltrate into the earth. In other words, increase the porosity of our earth; that is to make it capable to absorb every measure of water that falls on it. When out of necessity we are forced to pave a place, be it for parking or for people to gather, use friendly materials, pavers with pores in them, create green unpaved spaces in regular intervals and direct rain water there.

It is time we must open our eyes to other ways to increase availability and harnessing of water. It may be shocking to know that of the 100 liters of water that is available for us to use about 80% go waste; only 20% is actually put to use. The rest just runs down the drain. That 80 liters are available to be treated and used for agriculture and gardening. It would even be cheaper than buying tanker water. Another is to capture storm water before they escape to the sea and become useless for humans. Dig rainwater harvesting pits, direct it to rejuvenate lakes, ponds, and wells around us.

Water of course is a basic need for the survival of human beings and is part of the fundamental right to life as enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India, but large dams should be the last recourse, try out all other possibilities, because huge dams submerge wildlife, villages, they displace people and their farm lands, and the poor often do not get their fair share of benefits. We are at a crisis, and the crisis is not lack of water but the mismanagement of the water that is available to us. Let us fix that first. Remember that only 30 percent of India’s wastewater is recycled.

In conclusion, we must become adults in matters of water too. One becomes an adult when you know you have no one else to depend on; you got to fend for yourself, or will go thirsty and hungry, or even die. Being an adult is a survival mechanism. As an adult you begin to think, plan, believe, work, and most often succeed. Do not look out to others to solve our water crisis. We must look with in. Rumi beautifully says, if everything around seems dark, look again, you may be the light.

Written as TOGETHER editorial.

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