Water Conservation - Why, How, and Our Contribution in Saving Water
The Economic Survey of India has put India at the global hot spot for water insecurity by the year 2050. This makes it essential for water conservation to be a mass movement. Since India has varied terrain, it has unique challenges in water conservation and its usage. One solution which might work in one part of the country might not apply to other regions. In 2019, Chennai had become an international headline when civic bodies declared "Day Zero" in the city since it ran out of water with all the reservoirs drying up. The NITI Aayog (government think-tank) report says that if we do not adopt methods for water conservation, 20 more cities(including Delhi, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad) would run out of groundwater in the next few years. Several parts of India are experiencing a severe water crisis with water requirements for agricultural activities being high. From the total groundwater available in India, 6% goes for domestic use, 5% is used in industries, and the remaining 89% goes to agriculture. These figures demonstrate a strong need for water conservation measures in India. Let us find out why conserving water is the need of the hour, some of the methods applied in water conservation, and the role of NGOs working for water conservation in India.
What is Meant by Water Conservation In simple words, water conservation refers to different techniques employed for using water efficiently and cutting down unnecessary usage and wastage of water. Fresh and clean water is a limited resource and due to global warming and industrialization conservation of water needs to be prioritized.
Importance and Need for Conserving Water The world has 6.8 billion people out of which 1.4 billion do not have access to clean water. Concurrent crises of drought and flood have weakened the country's water resources. India's weather patterns lead to uneven distribution of rainwater. A massive number of farmers (more than 15,000) take their lives every year due to the adverse effect of climate on crop yield. Water conservation becomes dire in such conditions. ● Water is a finite resource and humans have only 3% of all the water in the world for their consumption purposes. India has access to only 4% of this freshwater. ● India is at 120th position amongst 122 countries in the global water quality index. ● Uneven distribution of water in India makes large parts of the country deficient in rain and groundwater. ● Out of 178.7 million households in rural areas, only 32.7 million (just 18%) receive drinking water from tap connections. ● India along with China makes the two topmost countries in the world in rice production. Rice production needs an immense supply of water for irrigation. ● Rainfall is highly seasonal in India so it needs to be conserved to irrigate crops. ● Water is also responsible for the protection of wildlife and ecosystems. ● Water conservation also leads to energy conservation. If we use appliances that are energy and water-efficient, we can save energy as well as reduce water usage. ● In developing countries like India, 80% of crude sewage is getting discharged in water bodies such as oceans and lakes. ● India is losing its lakes continuously, for example, Bengaluru had 260 lakes in the 1960s but now there are hardly 80 left. ● In the past 12 years, Hyderabad has lost over 3200 hectares of wetlands.
Methods of Water Conservation Water conservation is not just the job of government environmental analysts or the government but we must all take it as our moral duty to take care of this precious resource. Earth, water, and trees are linked to each other and industrialization has broken the natural rules. There are many ways water can be conserved in India like merging various rivers (Tapi, Godavari. Kaveri, Krishna, etc.) from different regions and distributing this water in
circulation. Water circulation should be done 100 feet below Earth's surface so that water does not evaporate. During monsoons, India can utilize rainwater to provide excess water circulation by connecting pipes to water circulation. Water conservation can be done anywhere and around any type of construction Some of the major ways water is being conserved in India are: ● Rainwater harvesting - Natural water can be conserved extremely effectively by harvesting rainwater to replenish groundwater. In this method, you collect rainwater and allow it to percolate to a reservoir or deep pit. The water would then steep down and improve levels of groundwater. ● Kuls - Though Science and the advancement of technology have certainly given us some ready solutions for water conservation, India has had traditional and time-tested solutions for conserving water. Kul is one of them. Water from glaciers is carried to villages via diversion channels called Kuls. These Kuls are lifelines of people at high altitudes like Jammu and Himachal Pradesh. ● Water metering - By installing water meters we can cut down the wastage of water. Water metering also measures the amount of water being used in commercial and residential buildings. Monitoring water usage helps detect leakages and also conserves water since people are charged for the amount of water they use. ● Leveling farming fields - Fameres level their fields at regular intervals so that they can save more water. With this method, almost 10% of the total water requirement for crops is saved. ● Bamboo drip irrigation method - This method has been there for more than 200 years and is used in Meghalaya for irrigating plantations. In this technique, around 18 to 20 liters of water passes through a bamboo pipe system every minute to irrigate plants downhill. The water used here is from springs and streams and various sizes of bamboo are used to create this system. The pipe positions are changed to control the flow of water The output is reduced by 20 to 80 drops per minute which is great for crops like black pepper and betel leaf.
How NGOs Support Water Conservation NGOs in India have valuable and practical knowledge about issues with water, the environment, and sanitation. This makes them a strong stakeholder in providing safe water to citizens. ● Their independent research and deep knowledge about local situations make their work invaluable for improving water conservation strategies. ● NGOs' water conservation methodologies are based on rain harvesting concepts where they collect excess rainwater to replenish groundwater. ● NGOs also work towards restoring water bodies like lakes, ponds, etc. ● One of the biggest steps in finding solutions to the water crisis is to change the attitudes of people and their habits. NGOs are a great help in spreading this awareness and help suggest practical ways of conserving water by all of us every day,
Water Conservation NGOs in India WOTR is one of the biggest crusaders of water conservation and this NGO Working On Water In India is located in Pune with its wings spread in nine other states in India. They are impacting more than 3750 villages with their water bodies conservation projects. A simple yet unique approach of WOTR is called "water budgeting" where "Jal Sevaks' ensure the rightful, optimal, and efficient consumption of water. The Jal Sevaks lead these water conservation activities in their own village along with 3 or 4 nearby villages. WOTR has facilitated the construction of many water harvesting structures such as check dams to provide quality drinking water and sanitation facilities to villages across the country.