WATER CRISIS

Context

Introduction

• The UNESCO United Nations World Water Development Report of 2022 has encapsulated global concern over the sharp rise in freshwater withdrawal from Streams, lakes, aquifers, human-made reservoirs, impending water stress and water scarcity being experienced in different parts of the world.
• 'Coping with the water scarcity was the theme of World Water Day(March 22), in 2007.

Increase in water stress

• An interactive web tool called the Water Scarcity Clock, shows that nearly 2 billion people live in countries experiencing high water stress.
• The Global Drought Risk & Water Stress map(2019) shows that major parts of India, West, Central & parts of Peninsular India are highly water stressed.

• The typical response of the areas where water storage is high includes water transfer from the hinterlands or drawing it from stored surface water bodies/aquifers.
• Globally, urban water infrastructure imports an estimated 500billion litres of water/day across a distance of 27,000km.
• At least 12% of large cities in the world rely on inter-basin transfers.

Urban Water Use

• According to the 2011 Census, the urban population in India accounted for 34% of the total population.
• It is estimated that the urban population in India may cross 40% by 2030 & 50% by 2050.
• Water use in the Urban sector has increased as more people shift to urban areas and per capita use of water in these centres rises.
• It is evident that in the initial stages when a city is small, the supply of water is concerned.
• As the city grows & water management infrastructures develop, dependence shifts to surface water.
• The allocation of urban water is enhanced at the expense of irrigation water.
• City water supply is now a subject of inter-basin & inter-state transfers of water.

Case Study

• More than 80% of water supply in Ahmedabad city used to be met from the ground-water source still mid-1980s.
• The depth of the groundwater level reached 67 meters in confined aquifers.
• The city now depends on the Narmada canal for its bulk water supply.
• The shift is from local groundwater to canal water receiving supply from an inter-state & inter-basin transfer of surface water.
• Surface water transfer from rural to urban areas is visible & can be computed, the recharge areas of groundwater aquifers are spread over the city boundary.
• Cities largely depend on rural areas for raw water supply, which has the potential to ignite the rural-urban dispute.