Action plan to revive 100 water-stressed districts

On the back of India’s ongoing water crisis, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her union budget speech highlighted that there are 100 water-stressed districts in the country.

India’s most water stressed municipality wards are situated in Tamil Nadu (541), followed by Rajasthan (218), Uttar Pradesh (139) and Telangana (137). While 313 wards have been categorized as critical, 1,186 wards have overexploited groundwater and 94 wards have limited groundwater availability.[i] The recent budget announcement included several forward-thinking comprehensive measures to improve this situation in the country.

In addition to this, The World Bank Group has recently released information stating that water demand in India will grow to almost 1.5 trillion m3 by 2050.  There is expected to be shortage of water by almost 50 percent by 2030.[ii]

Challenges in the fight against water crisis

An unprecedented stress on the water resources was brought about by over exploitation of ground water, overdependence on monsoons, rapid unplanned urbanization, heightened industrialization, agricultural requirements and climate change. While agriculture requires a large quantity of water for irrigation and ancillary activities, irregular electricity supply dampens chances of optimally using the resources to minimize wastage or overexploitation. 

Loss of water as leakage during distribution and discharges from industries let out into fresh water sources due to lack of proper discharge mechanism or sanitation also leads to heavy loss of fresh water. Lack of effective water management along with inadequate water infrastructure in the country have also been added to the woes. 

Additionally, while India’s natural water bodies have immense potential, it remains unfulfilled to a large extent as these ponds and lakes are victims of illegal garbage and sewage disposal. This further disrupts the water table as people are forced to depend on groundwater. 

Sustainable approach towards water

In the current situation, there has been an accelerated shift towards a circular economy from the earlier linear ‘use and dispose’ approach towards water. This approach reduces the burden of the existing water resource to a greater extent by opening avenues of reusage. 

This improves large scale adoption of efficient wastewater practices. Socially responsible companies and industries have shifted to a ‘zero discharge’ status to ensure minimal water wastage. Such wastewater treatment initiatives can be taken to the next level if the additional treated water in industries could be distributed to nearby agricultural areas to fulfill their irrigational requirements. Like a true circular economy, this can also be reversed with treated water from agriculture processes transferred to industries.

Technological disruptions to drive sustainability

Technological innovations can support sustainable water processes and create new disruptions in the water industry. Such disruptions have revolutionized the utility of water pumps in recent years. The new era of energy efficient water pumps has specialized applications which are equipped with sensors for intelligent water management. The sensors collect data on consumption patterns, flow and temperature to improve adaptability based on changing requirements. For example, an intelligent pump in a hotel or a commercial building will be able to understand peak hours through this data and will be able to adjust flow accordingly.  This ensures that water is conserved and avoids the burden on pipes and thereby reducing leakages. Additionally, the insights from the data can be used to provide predictive maintenance of parts and avoid leakages. Intelligent water management systems based on the principle of demand driven distribution can also be adopted by cities and communities to reduce water leakage.

These pumps also have extensive applications in industries as it is involved in almost all the important processes around wastewater treatment. For example, water used to cool a machine can be treated at multiple levels using these high performing pumping to improve the quality of treated water.  

Technology driven pump solutions can also be used to improve water accessibility in remote locations. Residents of these areas are typically dependent on irregular grid electricity or depletable fuels to power their pumps. With the advent of renewable solar pumps, their water concerns can be negated to a large extent. Surface water can also be treated using these solar water purification systems to improve access to potable drinking water in areas with limited groundwater. The government of India has further reduced any cost related concerns by extensively subsidizing and incentivizing adoption of solar pumps. This year’s budget laid a major emphasis on the PM-KUSUM scheme that will allow 20 lakh farmers to set up standalone solar pumps[iii]. 

Empowering a centralized ministry

The Jal Shakti Ministry established last year has made several strides towards water conservation and management as a centralized body.  

In the short run, the body will focus on bridging the demand-supply gap at a local level by integrating infrastructure and improving adoption of sustainable sources such as rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and wastewater treatment. 

The ministry has also been working towards reviving ponds, lakes, rivers and other water bodies to maintain the ecological balance and recharge groundwater.  

In the long run, the Jal Jeevan mission plans to ensure piped water to every household by 2024. From the union budget, they received INR 11,500 crores for the year 2020-2021 [iv]. While this is an ambitious goal, it needs to be approached in a planned manner with a long-term view in mind.  

Considering that water has become a state subject, this mission also requires continuous cooperation from state governments to maintain the momentum.

Need for corporate intervention

In light of the water crisis, many companies have realigned their CSR strategy to contribute more towards water related initiatives. Several companies have come together to restore water bodies and are working towards improving the livelihood in the neighbouring community.  For example, Grundfos, a global leader in advanced pumping solutions is working on restoring a lake in Shollinganallur, Chennai. Besides basic restoration, the company has worked with an NGO to make it a space for community to use for walks and recreation. 

Similarly, a few years ago the Grundfos Foundation provided 100 solar powered pumps to provide water to 100 villages across India.

Saravanan Panneer Selvam

Guest Author General Manager, Grundfos India.