Water gone to waste

Water pumped out from deep acquifers may add to sea level rise even more than global warming, according to new research. Even if the climate is stabilised, our water use unless checked will contribute to many coastal towns being flooded by end of the century.


The drawing of water from deep wells has caused the sea to rise by an average of a millimetre every year since 1961, the researchers concluded. The storing of freshwater in reservoirs has offset about 40% of that, but the scientists warn that this effect is diminishing. The study from Tokyo university suggests that the pumping out of groundwater is five times bigger in scale than the melting of Greenland and Antarctica ice caps!

In some parts of the world, the stores of water have now been exhausted. Saudi Arabia, for example, was self-sufficient in wheat, grown in the desert using water from deep, fossil aquifers. Now, many of the aquifers have run dry and most wheat is imported, with all growing expected to end in 2016. In northern India, the level of the water table is dropping by 4cm every year.

There are critics not quite satisfied by the study. However, it sounds another warning to the way we use our groundwater. In a city like Bangalore, the withdrawal of water is 5-6 times that of its recharging with rainwater, and if the trend continues the city's groundwater will be out and over in five years, say geologists! Unsustained water use will not only upset the hydrologial cycle but will leave millions thirsty in years to come. It has to stop.

Parched times

It is summer. Temperatures are rising and land already wearing a parched look. The most sought commodity, water, is on a retreating march, and this at a time when it is needed most. But let us look at some data and studies to see if there is really a scarcity or simply bad management.

Take a city like Bangalore. It has a population of 85 lakhs, which will exceed 1 crore by 2016 and be 1.26 crores by 2020, 2 crores by 2030 at the current annual growth rate of 4%. Where does it get its water from? Most of it it from a distance - horizontal and vertical!

About 850 MLD to 900 MLD is pumped up from Cauvery across a distance 98 kms. This is after accounting for water meant for industrial purposes (50 mld) and a huge unnaccounted for water owing to leakages (45 percent or 450 mld).

Going by trends, in 2020 the average Bangalorean will be able to access 73 lpcd (litres per capita per day) while the GoI norm is 150!

Then there is the vertical drilling for groundwater which goes unchecked. There are about 312,000 borewells in the metropolitan area, of which only a third is registered! A recent study by the Department of Mines and Geology,Groundwater Hydrology and Groundwater Quality in and Around Bangalore City, showed that samples between 5% and 29% are having toxicity beyond permissible limit for drinking water in respect of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Fluoride, Nitrate, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Lead, aluminium and Zinc. The most alarming phenomenon is that the toxicity in underground water is steadily increasing.

Even more alarming is that the drawal of water from the borewells is almost thrice the recharging by rainfall! If this continues, within a couple of years the city will be dry.

What can be done is simple, as always, but avoids attention because it means a change of habits. River water pumped using electricity MUST be used sparingly and only for potable purposes and NOT for cleaning cars and gardening. Recycled, treated sewage water must be used for all other purposes. There are treatment plants, most running below capacity! Once tertiary treatment is included, we can have the NEWater that Singapore now uses for all its requirements.

Lakes must be restored and kept clean by not allowing sewage water to flow into them. Once upon a time it was this water that addressed the needs of the populace. Experts believe that lakes and rainwater alone can cater to the needs of the city.

Groundwater must be used only as an option where all else fails. Else, we will be depleting our million year old aquifer for ages to come.

1 bn will face water shortage by 2050

Rapid urban growth and climate change will leave more than 1 billion urban dwellers with a water shortage by 2050, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study shows urban growth rates alone leaving 993 million city residents living on less than 100 liters of water a day. The effects of climate change add 100 million people to that toll.

The 100-liter-per-day benchmark comes from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Both recommend it as the minimum amount for consumption in normal uses like bathing, drinking and cooking. In contrast, the average American uses 376 liters a day!

Between now and 2050, the study projects the world will add 3 billion people in cities, most of them in developing areas in India, West Africa and China. Much of this urban growth will occur in areas with seasonal water shortages. The study projects 3.1 billion people will be dealing with seasonal water shortages by 2050.

Agriculture, the world's biggest water consumer, is also one of its the biggest wasters. The report recommends improving the industry's efficiency and cites previously successful approaches. One, in South Africa, had farmers remove plantations of non-native trees that require a lot of water to survive.

Parched planet

Summer is not yet in but water woes have started. Not only in the poor developing world, but also in the developed world, focus is shifting to water.

In the UK, a think tank, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, has brought a report saying that low-income households are at particular risk because of new methods being introduced to increase the efficient use and distribution of water. It defines "water poverty" as when households spend 3% or more of their income on water bills.

It warns that water is becoming scarce as a result of climate change and increased consumer demand. An estimated four million households in the UK are already "water poor", according to the report, and the situation is likely to worsen, with bills predicted to rise by 5% a year for some customers. Water companies are moving away from flat-rate fees to new charging models that bill customers with steadily higher prices according to how much water they use.

A less recognised reason for the turmoil in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Yemen, Jordan and now Iran has been rising food prices, directly linked to a growing regional water crisis. The Blue Peace report from Strategic Foresight examined long-term prospects for seven countries, including Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, the Palestinian territories and Israel. Five already suffer major structural shortages, it said, and the amount of water being taken from dwindling sources across the region cannot continue much longer. Oil is a poor substitute for water!

In this context, once again the issue is of water management and perhaps, privatisation. Will it solve the issue ro take water out of the hands of the poor?

Polluted rivers

More than 5 billion people — nearly 80 percent of the planet’s population — live in regions where water security is threatened because of mismanagement and pollution of rivers and watersheds.

This degradation of the planet’s waters also threatens the existence of thousands of freshwater species, according to the study published in the journal Nature. The study, which examined the effects of numerous factors on the planet’s limited freshwater supplies — including pollution, agricultural runoff, dam construction, and the introduction of invasive species — found that significant deterioration in water quality was not limited to poorer nations but was common in the rivers of Europe, the U.S., and other industrialized countries.

While rivers represent a small percentage of our water supply worldwide (most humans are reliant on groundwater), ailing rivers mean altered migration routes, fewer defenses against flooding and erosion, and other issues that directly impact humans.

While rich countries can afford to throw money into alleviating symptoms of sick rivers, the study shows that localized efforts at treating the problems -- such as smarter dam infrastructure, and water management that incorporates both the needs of humans and local wildlife -- is a far better solution for all countries, especially developing countries that lack financial resources. Treating symptoms is what we have been doing rather than tackle the root of the problem. (That goes for most problems in today's scoiety!)