Water, it is said, flows towards power. There are several water hotspots globally where the supply-demand mismatch is very high.
Take a look at the following water statistics. Only 3 percent of the world's water resources are fresh. More than 100 million people across the world don't have access to safe drinking water. Nearly 2-10 million people die because of water related illnesses. In developing nations nearly 50 percent of piped water is lost due to leakages, overflowing reservoirs and careless use.
Experts say that there is sufficient water for all in the world if only we could learn to manage this natural resource well. There are several traditional water management practices and several more that experts now suggest .
Budgeting water use is one method that has been practised the world over. For example, several districts in Gujarat consider their region's rainfall before water allocation.
But a region's rainfall alone can't decide water budget because even with heavy rainfall, there can be water stress. Africa and Asia together receive more than half of the world's total rainfall but still both are water stressed areas owing to their large population.
If water storage bodies have disappeared, as they have in Bangalore, heavy rainfall does not result in sufficient water. Factors such as unpaved area left and forest cover also influence water availability.
Ground water as a resource should not be included in the budget because it takes a thousand years to replenish this source.
Budgeting should also be based on whether it is an urban/rural area. Around 30 percent of the population is expected to live in urban areas by 2025, where water supply in the outskirts and slums are either non- existent or are crumbling.
The water use of individuals all over the world has grown exponentially in modern times. For normal living the minimum requirement is 100 lts/day. Although personal consumption is only a fraction of our total water usage, individuals, especially the urban rich, need to budget their water use.
Improve technology
Irrigation and industries need a lot of water. The lands coming under irrigation and the number of industries have been steadily increasing as also buildings to cater to a burgeoning population. Whether in industries, agriculture or even in dwellings, technology can contribute significantly to water saving.
In industrial areas, moving over to dry technology and making the industries pay for the wastewater discharged have proved effective. In agriculture, growing drought resistant crops, mixing of crops, rainwater harvesting and where irrigation is absolutely necessary, sprinklers/drip irrigation/furrowing practices save water.
Water recycling technologies have to be embraced by all sectors.
Water is a right that everybody should enjoy. But when there is unequal distribution due to natural and man made reasons, we need to do a rethink on its allocation and even on the sensitive issue of social subsidy.
Cheap supply of irrigation water to farmers in drought prone areas is unreasonable as also the limitless and cheap supply of water to the urban rich. Like for other ecosystem services, the price we pay for our water supply is not commiserate with its value.
We pay Rs 12 for 1 litre of bottled water to private companies which get this water virtually free. At the same time we pay the government the same amount to supply us with 6000 lts of water and also to carry back our waste! No wonder everybody wastes water.
Experts suggest that the cost of piped-in water be increased. While privatization might improve the efficiency and quality of water management, its impact on the poor is going to be horrific.
When users, planners and policy makers all put their heads together, water management improves. Women have contributed immensely in identifying and protecting water resources. So policies need to be gender sensitive. Water conflicts between states and nations can also be avoided if regions adopt the "unlimited territorial integrity" policy where no region has exclusive rights to water and safe guarding its quality is the duty of all.
At a smaller level decentralizing water management issues where every panchayat lays down the rules will help water management. If government, public, academicians and NGOs all work together, water can be managed so well that there is enough for all.