WATER MANAGEMENT IN URBAN INDIA

Context
Water is probably the single largest natural resource under severe stress in India. Home to 17% of the
world population, India accounts for just 4% of the global fresh water resources. With an increasing
population and a fast growing economy the demand for water is increasing.

From ancient times, there have been elaborate systems and to source and supply water. From the Indus
Valley civilization, we have evidence of drainage systems, rainwater collection and groundwater use.
India has been dependent on shallow ground water from earlier times. However, with increasing
industrialization and urbanization, this scenario has significantly altered.

India has a population of 1.25 billion people and a water demand of about 750 BCM
(http://publications.iwmi.org/pdf/H041798.pdf). With an average rainfall of about 1000mm and significant
snow melt as primary sources of water, India is often considered well-endowed with water resources.
Roughly 50% of the annual precipitation is received in just 15 days in a year and is not being used
effectively. (http://www.teriin.org/policybrief/docs/persp.pdf).

As it stands today, traditional water systems like open wells in most places have fallen into a state of
disuse and disrepair. Pollution of water sources, inadequate sanitation and sewage systems, rampant
encroachment and destruction of water bodies in the cities adversely impacts use of local surface and
ground water sources. Inadequate understanding and implementation of rainwater harvesting in a
changing urban context has meant that rainwater is not being tapped effectively as a source. Many cities
are increasingly relying on water sources hundreds of kilometers away for municipal supply. Inefficient
provisioning by municipal authorities has led to increasing reliance on ground water for all uses across
sectors. Private tankers have emerged as de-facto suppliers in underserved areas and their exorbitant
pricing has resulted in the urban poor paying more for water than the privileged sections. Most people
in the city, especially the less affluent sections, do not receive the WHO mandated per capita daily
entitlement of water for basic needs.

The nature of use of water is also changing significantly in cities. Domestic use has exponentially grown
with modern day appliances, sanitation and amenities requiring higher water consumption. Consumption
in other sectors such as industry, agriculture and even sectors such as hospitality and leisure have
dramatically increased , competing with the same water sources.

Waste water from different uses in turn impacts availability of good quality water. Industrial and
commercial effluents continue to pollute water bodies through direct discharge or dump their waste and
effluents on land sites, leading to ground water contamination through drainage and leaching. The story
of domestic effluents is no different. With most households lacking adequate or effective sewage
systems, untreated waste water is emptied into water bodies. As per some estimates, 70% of India’s

© Wipro Limited 2015

 surface and ground water resources are contaminated. Despite laws and regulations and monitoring
bodies like pollution control boards in place, this situation continues unabated.

Problem Statement
There are various aspects to be addressed for an effective urban water management system. The
problem of water management in the urban context is essentially centered on assessing needs, managing
demand, ensuring equitable and quality access. A number of aspects can be explored within this.

Demand and Availability

 What is the current source mix?
 What are the competing demands? Does it meet current needs and future needs – which
needs to consider growth and different consumptive uses (industry and population social
profile among others)
 What are the economics of water transportation and pricing ?

Equitable Access
 How is the available water distributed across (a) end-uses and (b) socio-economic strata?
 What is the distribution infrastructure?
 Who gets how much and from where?
 Who pays how much and to who?

Quality
 Even if water is available, is its quality acceptable? If not, why? (Untreated waste, industrial
pollution etc)
 If poor quality is due to untreated waste, what solutions and approaches will work such that
they are affordable and technologically appropriate? What is the current approach in terms
of waste water treatment and transportation? What approaches will work i.e. legislation /
incentives / taxes?

While these broad facets are largely the same across most cities in the country, each city/town will have
its own social and historical context that needs to be taken into account.

© Wipro Limited 2015

 Objectives
An effective water management strategy for a city would have the following objectives:

 Sustainable sourcing of water and effective use of multiple sources such as rain water,
surface water, ground water and any other sources
 Ensure availability, equitable provisioning and efficient distribution
 Reduce consumption across different types of uses
 Effective management of waste water as resource

Develop a water management plan for your city or town based on the above objectives. You can draw
from the experiences and examples of big cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai
while making your plan. The plan should cover the following:

 An analysis of the current scenario and the impact of these if the current trends continue.
 Challenges and bottlenecks to implementing this plan and measures to address them
 A water management plan to achieve the above objectives over a 5-year period. Your plan
should do the following:
 Map the various water sources available for the city and develop a sustainable water
sourcing strategy; keep in mind the natural water flows, micro watersheds and
drainage patterns
 Develop a strategy to reduce water consumption across different sectors
 Explore and identify appropriate ways (e.g.: centralized/decentralized) for treatment
and reuse of sewage.
 Describe the regulatory and policy measures as well as institutional and community
participation mechanisms required to implement the plan
 Develop financial strategies for implementing the above
 Establish how the plan achieves the sustainable mobility objectives

Ensure that your submission provides the context of water management in your city which should
include secondary data research as well as interactions with the people responsible for managing water -
both in the formal and informal sector. There should be a good understanding of the issues as well as
the history and various reasons that have contributed to the current situation. It is also important to
note that not all of these problems require technological fixes. In many cases awareness/communication
and policy changes are needed to bring about the required changes.

This document was prepared with major contributions from

Shubha Ramachandran at BIOME

© Wipro Limited 2015