WATER

RESOURCES
What is price you are willing to pay for
these?
 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.
Water in Our World
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?
 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.
 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.
 Water Usage Pattern
Sector Global Use % use in % use in % use in
% industrialis developed India
ed countries
countries
Agriculture 70 30 82 80

Industry 22 59 10 15

Domestic 8 11 8 5
Usage of accessible water
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.
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.
 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.
 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.
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.
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….
Bishop Cotton Girls High School - Bangalore
Pilot Project Planned: Bishop
Cottons Girls High School,
Bangalore
Roof Area
(square 800
metre) :
Rainfall
(millimetres) 970
:
Rainwater 0.78 million
Available : litres

Rainwater 0.62 million

harvestable : litres

Investment
25,000
Costs (Rs) :
Savings from
water
37,200 per year
harvested
(Rs)
 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
Thank you!!!
Abhiroop Chatterjee – 2
Abhishek Ranjan – 4
Dhirendra Pratap Singh - 13
Gautam Rajagopalan - 16