approaches for water sustainability

Approaches for water sustainability

Prof. Dr. S.K. Vadagbalkar, Solapur-413004, Maharashtra, India, Email: [email protected]


Prof. Dr. S.K.Vadagbalkar

53, Veershaiv nagar, Vijapur road, Solapur-413004, Maharashtra State, INDIA Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

The most important challenges the world faces today is Water Resources management.

Humans in meeting their demand for water, extract vast quantities from rivers, lakes,

wetlands, and underground aquifers to supply the requirements of cities, farms, and industries

by disturbing the environment and eco balance. Freshwater is a finite, vulnerable and

essential resource. As water is an economic good, its development and management should

be based on a participatory and sustainable approach, involving all relevant stakeholders.

Accordingly peoples must involve themselves and play a central role in the provision,

management and safeguarding of water in conjunction with the surrounding environment.

INTRODUCTION

Besides being an integral part of the ecosystem, water is a social and economic good.

Demand for water resources of sufficient quantity and quality for human consumption,

sanitation, agricultural irrigation, and manufacturing will continue to intensify as populations

increase and as global urbanization, industrialization, and commercial development

accelerates (Flint and Houser, 2001).

In total, less than three-tenths of 1% of Earth’s freshwater is in the lakes and rivers that have

served as the major sources of water through most of human history (Adler, 2002), but

societies worldwide have not always appreciated this easily accessible freshwater and the

need to protect it. Thus, water consumption has nearly doubled since 1950 (UNESCO, 2003),

and much of the world suffers greatly from inadequate access to potable water. About 20% of

the Earth’s population of 6.2 billion lacks access to safe drinking water (Hall, 2003).

The demand for water resources is continuing to increase. This increase is being driven not

only by a growing world population but also by the aspirations of that population for an ever

increasing standard of living (Bartlett, 1999). At the same time, the capacity of the planet to

meet this demand is in decline because of over-harvesting, inappropriate agricultural

practices, and pollution, to name just a few. These impacts on Earth are occurring because

humans are not in line with the way the natural world functions.



Water a scarce natural resource but can be replenished at least partially, is fundamental to

life, livelihood, food security and sustainable development. India has more than 18 % of the

world’s population, but has only 4% of world’s renewable water resources and 2.4% of

world’s land area. There are further limits on utilizable quantities of water owing to uneven

distribution over time and space. In addition, there are challenges of frequent floods and

droughts in one or the other part of the country.

INDIAN SCENARIO

India is one of the countries in the world blessed with highest water resources potential but

with a special feature of distribution of water is uneven both in space and time. However,

80% of the annual rainfall is seasonal and is restricted to average 2 months and generally

occurs in about 100 hours, of which 50% occurs only in 20 to 30 hrs during monsoon rains

i.e. it is erratic, with heavy spells of short duration and with uneven distribution, which in

turn favours run off than percolation and storage.

Out of the total geographical area of 328 million hectares (mha) of the Country on area of 40

mha (about 8%) is flood prone and about 108 mha (about 33%) spread over a total area in 99

districts in 13 states has been identified as drought prone. In India, around 68% of the country

is prone to drought in varying degrees. 35% which receives rainfall between 750 mm and

1125 mm is considered drought prone while 33% receiving less than 750 mm is chronically

drought prone.

It is peculiar to see that surplus and deficit quantities of water occur simultaneously in

different regions of the country. Government has spent till present billions of rupees for relief

measures or to overcome the problems, but no tangible result is achieved.

Drought is a normal, recurrent feature of climate and occurs in all climatic regimes and is

usually characterized in terms of its spatial extension, intensity and duration. Drought mainly

affects the agricultural land and crop yield due to shortage of moisture availability and create

drinking water problem for human beings and cattle.Drought has economic, environmental

and social impacts. It may be either natural or artificial i.e. man imposed e.g. crop pattern

adopted, mismanagement and misuse of land and water available in a specific area by large

population, deforestation and/ or industrial set up or irrigation methods may also lead to

cause artificial drought leading to environment degradation. The natural drought may be

caused by less annual precipitation than normal and specially less than 400 mm., late onset of

monsoon, early withdrawal of monsoon or longer inter dry spells or high spell of short



duration in the monsoon periods. Therefore, it is evident that drought may occur in high as

well as low rainfall areas.

With the increasing demand from agriculture- irrigation, industries and population in urban as

well in rural areas, the demand for water is increasing in multi-folds. To meet the needs and

also to mitigate the drought conditions; there is an immediate need to accelerate the efforts on

storage of water during the monsoons in the rivers and reservoirs and its optimum and

regulated utilisation throughout the year and also to adapt various conservation methods with

realisation of surrounding natural conditions.

WATER SUSTAINABILITY

The hydrologic cycle represents the interactions among surface water, groundwater, and

atmospheric vapor. Regional hydrologic landscapes represent management units that are

large enough to include regional groundwater aquifers, surface water basins, and large-scale

patterns of precipitation and evapotranspiration. Water sustainability is the driving force for

including water considerations in all approaches. Water sustainability encompasses both the

concept of water availability and water usability or quality. Sustainability involves the sum of

all the impacts and interactions among many sectors, decisions and technologies i.e.

sustainability is a broad overview from the top down of the need to balance resource supply

and demand for the present and the long term and the need to sustain the ecosystem in which

all of our activity takes place. It is widely recognized that regional scale or watershed based

consideration is important for considering sustainability. Land use management is one of the

dominant factors affecting both water quantity and quality. Land use changes can impede or

contribute to sustainable water resources management and therefore must form a part during

integrated watershed management. Water conservation, reuse and recycling are feasible

approaches for increasing available surface water and groundwater supplies.

As Water is a shared resource in natural system, it has impacts on the ecosystem, the social

system and the economic system. It is important to understand how the three systems work

and interconnect. The figure below shows the concept proposed by several theorists and used

by the Sustainable Water Resources Round table of United Nations. The economy is

embedded in the social system (the economic system is created by society to facilitate

commerce) and the social system is constrained by the ecosystem or biosphere.



Sustainability of water resources occurs when water supply and demand (including

ecosystem demand) balance. Conservation is a necessary factor for sustainability – but if

demand outstrips supply – you still won’t have enough water. So the challenge is to work

with both supply and demand to get a balance that is sustainable. How climate change could

worsen current water supply/demand imbalances in future is an upcoming threat in resource

planning. The issue of sustainability is much more complex than just balancing supply and

demand. Sustainable water resources will require a paradigm shift towards ‘water centric

thinking’ about natural and social systems. A useful approach would be not just to consider

supply/demand questions, but how infrastructure is designed, built and used in a way that is

more holistic and integrates and creates multiple benefits. Watershed plans that work in an

urban area may need to be modified for rural and suburban areas. Many sectors that use water

include: power, agriculture, industry, etc. and how these all interact, impact and affect each

other. Future population increases will mean an increase in energy and water needs in all of

these sectors but many communities and regions are already at a point where they face

significant water constraints. There would be benefits from sharing technologies and ideas

among sectors and stakeholder groups. The issues of technology affordability and public

acceptance need to be addressed during planning and implementation of the scheme.

Sustainable development is the centerpiece and key to water resource quantity and quality, as

well as national security, economic health, and societal well-being. The word sustainability

implies the ability to support life, to comfort, and to nourish. For all of human history, the

Earth has sustained human beings by providing food, water, air, and shelter. Sustainable also

means continuing without lessening (Flint, et al., 2002). Thus, sustainable development can

mean working to improve human’s productive power without damaging or undermining

society or the environment i.e., progressive socio-economic betterment without growing



beyond ecological carrying capacity: achieving human well-being without exceeding the

Earth’s twin capacities for natural resource regeneration and waste absorption (Flint, 2003).

By acting under the principles of sustainable development, our economic desires/demands

become accountable both to an ecological imperative to protect the ecosphere and to a social

equity imperative to create equal access to resources and minimize human suffering. These

requirements are the foundation of sustainable development as represented by the three circle

mode (principle elements) of sustainability

These three elements interact with each other so continuously that we cannot make decisions,

make policy, manufacture, consume, essentially do anything without considering the effects

and costs upon all three simultaneously (Flint, 2003).

Principles of Water Resources Sustainability:

1. The value & limits of water- People need to understand the value and appreciate the limits

of water resources and the risks to people and ecosystems of unbounded water and land use

2. Shared responsibility- Because water does not respect political boundaries, its management

requires shared consideration of the needs of people and ecosystems up- and downstream and

throughout the hydrologic cycle

3. Equitable access- Sustainability suggests fair and equitable access to water, water

dependent resources and related infrastructure

4. Stewardship- Stewardship is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and

management of resources. The concepts of stewardship can be applied to the environment,

economics etc.

5. System capacities and their allocation- It includes Gross water availability, Total

withdrawals for human uses, Water remaining in the environment after withdrawals and

consumption, Water quality in the environment, Total capacity to deliver water supply (i.e.



infrastructure capacity), Social and organizational capacity to manage water sustainably,

Environmental conditions, Resource conditions, The quality and quantity of water for human

uses, Resources withdrawals and use

6. Effects on people of the conditions and uses of water resources- Human conditions –

measures of the value people receive from the uses of water and the costs they incur,

including health effects

7. Underlying processes and driving forces-

a) Land use

b) Residual flows – the flow of water and wastes back into the water system

c) Social and economic processes – the systems people and organizations develop to

influence water resources and sustainability

d) Ecosystem processes

8. Composite sustainability assessment-

a) Water use sustainability – in each watershed, the ratio of water withdrawn to

renewable supply

b) Water quality sustainability – in each watershed, indicators of the suitability of

water quality for the uses desired, including ecosystem uses

It is important to note that United Nations has appealed and suggested for the

implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) program during the

planning of water resource management projects in any part of the world. It is a process

which promotes the co-ordinated development and management of water, land and related

resources in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable

manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

Basis for sustainability development

Consumption of renewable resources State of environment Sustainability

More than nature's ability to replenish Environmental degradation Not sustainable

Equal to nature's ability to replenish Environmental equilibrium Steady state economy

Less than nature's ability to replenish Environmental renewal Environmentally sustainable

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steady_state_economy



SUGGESTIONS: - (Holistic and Integrated Approach)

In India, where large parts suffer from periodic drought condition, water conservation is of

paramount importance. This is particularly true of all states in peninsular India (Central and

South part).

Programmes of prevention and protection for soil erosion, providing farm bunds,

suitable crop patterns, crop rotation, adaption of horticulture, green – poly – net shade

pattern, mulching, economic irrigation systems like drip, sprinkling, strategic use of

minimum water, maintaining quality of water to keep away from pollution, ground

water replenishment and adoption of farm ponds, water harvesting techniques etc. will

essentially help in meeting the resource management even during drought periods.

It is suggested that large, medium and small scale water storage structures i.e. dams,

tanks, percolation tanks etc. should be developed at all possible sites along the

streams and rivers in the highland and midland regions of India. Construction in large

number of check dams, inverted dams, Kolhapur type weirs, contour canals - mainly

in perennial flooding rivers etc. should form the part of the development of the water

shed programme on micro as well macro level. The estimation of water quantity

available in water shed in favourable as well in adverse condition must be available

before construction of these structures along with the well understanding of the

geological situations of the area.

Watershed development plays a complimentary role to the major irrigation projects. It

is important to note that water shed development and minor irrigation has limited

benefits and only on local levels especially during regular to medium monsoon, but

the major projects of Dams can only come to rescue during the consecutive drought

years. It also helps in control of floods during heavy rain spells.

Groundwater is far more reliable as a source of supply than surface water and if

protected, can provide potable water of high quality. It occurs everywhere in some or

large quality and it is relatively drought proof. It forms the principal source of water

supply especially in rural areas. Therefore, development of groundwater storage will

serve as sustainable development as well primary buffer against drought, provided its

use is regulated.

Dams and their distribution network with irrigation are an essential component of

water conservation and management and hence are found helpful in drought

mitigation strategy. There is need for conservation through storages of all categories,



large, medium, small and micro including natural and artificial ground water recharge

in concurrence with prevention and protection of natural conditions of environment

i.e. sustainable conservational, development and management processes.

Concept and techniques of integrated water resources management should be adopted

fully. Along with modern concept of water resources and distribution, traditional

method of water conservation and use, need to be given their due importance.

Conjunctive use of water and recycling of wastewater after appropriate treatment

needs to be encouraged and enforced through regulatory instruments like legislation

and its management within the natural or artificial recharging capacity should be

enforced.

Inter-basin water transfers from surplus regions to deficit ones need to be

implemented. For Peninsular Part of the country where drought prone areas

contiguously are of a very high percentage, (underground) pump storage schemes

should be developed in the Western Ghats, which will enable diversion of surplus

west flowing waters to the eastern side.

As water gets abstracted for use, the residual or regenerated flows tend to get polluted.

While quality of water needs to be regularly monitored, effective implementation of

legislation pertaining to pollution control along with education of the people for

avoidance of pollution especially from non-point sources need to be pursued.

CONCLUSION

Managing water to achieve sustainability challenges us in meeting today’s needs to address

the implications of our decisions on future generations and the ecosystems upon which they

will rely. An inter-disciplinary and holistic approach, which would integrate environmental,

socio-economic, culture and related issues, should underpin water resources policy, planning

and management in India. In essence, an integrated water resource management in a river

basin or micro basin (brook / small stream) as a unit for planning and management should be

evolved and established to have sustainability of water resources.

Acknowledgement

Author sincerely acknowledges the researchers, authors and up loaders for data, pictures /

images obtained from different web sites through Internet.



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