Crowds like this one around a well will be more common very soon!
In India, the groundwater table in some regions is dropping dramatically. A team of researchers from the Hydrological Sciences Branch of NASA recently measured just how severe the situation is for the states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana (including Delhi). The results were published in August 2009, in the online edition of the science magazine Nature.
According to these results, the water table in these regions is dropping by 17.7 + 4.5 cubic kilometres annually. During the August 2002-October 2008 study period, the groundwater loss was 109 cubic kilometres.
This corresponds to twice the volume of India's largest surface water reservoir.
By the year 2020, says a recent World Bank report, most major Indian cities will run dry. A combination of climate change, over-exploitation of groundwater and mismanagement of water are some of the reasons. Pollution which renders a large portion non-potable is also a contributor.
Pricing as we have said is one way of making water more precious and discouraging waste. But given the many below poverty line, any pricing will have to be a differential kind. Economic water scarcity (limited access to fresh water because of lower affordability) is as serious a problem as physical water scarcity.
With over 60 per cent of water used for agriculture, it calls for intervention in this sector to avoid waste and optimize the resource.
How does one solve the issue of inequity? How can we get our governments to get serious and act on this very serious issue of depleting water? Think twice before you let the water in your taps run!
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1 comment:
Enzen has taken on a very ambitious and one of its kind projects in the country. This is to do with demand side management on the agriculture use of water and energy.
Replace inefficient irrigation pumps with high efficiency pumps to reduce the amount of electricity needed to pump irrigation water. By doing so, electricity usage can be reduced dramatically. Several studies indicate potential savings in the range of 45%.
The company believes above all in optimisation of resources and systems. We recognise the kind of crisis the nation will be in unless water (and energy) management is taken seriously.
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