Safeguarding Water Resources

Water is precious natural resources. Polluting this valuable resource or commercializing it will backfire the entire society.

The amount of water being used in India from underground sources is estimated to be 45 per cent more that what natural systems or artificial
recharging can replenish. It's scary, and not very dissimilar from what we face on the energy front. Except that while alternatives to fossil fuels are on the horizon, there's no alternative to water. The only solution, therefore, is to utilise underground water resources more efficiently.

As detailed in a report in this newspaper on August 21, there is a discrepancy between what scientific findings by independent sources say about the current stock of groundwater in the country and what official sources proclaim. Scientific surveys show, for example, that underground water in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan is disappearing at the rate of one foot per year. Another media investigation has revealed that while the UP government claims that more than 80 per cent of agricultural land is under irrigation, farmers say it is barely 25 per cent.

Water insecurity has come about because of poor hydrological management - water storage, distribution, usage and conservation - as well as failure of water authorities to periodically survey and record accurately the state of the country's water table, the extent of its usage and wastage. Agriculture is the chief consumer of water. Therefore it's imperative to ensure scientific delivery and usage of water for irrigation, besides encouraging drought-resistant seeds and changing cropping patterns where necessary.

Drip irrigation - where water is delivered in measured doses through slender pipes close to the plant, thereby avoiding wastage from spillovers and evaporation - is being used successfully in countries like Israel where water is scarce. Collaborative efforts in this area between the two countries ought to be explored further so that more farmers can benefit from the new technology. Growing water-intensive crops like sugarcane and rice ought to be confined to areas where the crops are grown traditionally because of water availability. Cost of electricity supplied for agricultural purposes - primarily to pump water - needs to be recovered from the consumer. A scarce commodity can no longer be given away free.

India depends on groundwater reserves for most of its agricultural and domestic water requirements - hence the stress on groundwater reservoirs. Urban and rural rainwater harvesting is an option that has not been explored fully. Check dams can be thought of as an alternative to mega dam projects to provide local water support. Above all, the problem needs to be acknowledged first by government agencies and ministries before solutions can be found.