#WaterQualityinIndia: #IssuesandOptions

#Water and #sustainabledevelopment are seemingly inextricably linked. Once viewed as an infinite and bountiful resource, #water today defines #human, #social, and #economicdevelopment. Without adequate supplies and management of fresh and salt-water resources, #socioeconomicdevelopment simply cannot take place. India has 16 per cent of the world’s population and four per cent of its #freshwaterresources.

Qualitative water supply is indispensable for #health and well being of the people. Both #surfaceandgroundwater are main sources of drinking, agricultural, industrial and allied uses. #Groundwater, though, is major source of rural drinking water supplies in India. A sound knowledge of availability of water and its quality are essential for its #sustainablemanagement since its availability is dwindling due to burgeoning population, urbanization, industrialization and related demand. The quality of water varies from source to source in different areas. The stretches of various streams and rivers are often polluted.

Stress on water resources is from multiple sources and the impacts can take diverse forms. The growth of urban megalopolises, increased #industrialactivity and dependence of the #agricultural sector on chemicals and #fertilizers has led to the over loading of the carrying capacity of our water bodies to assimilate and #decomposewastes. Owing to the indiscriminate discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents into #naturalwaterbodies, the quality of surface water as well as ground water is deteriorating. To meet the increase in water requirements in the country in the next 25 years, it would be necessary to ensure #substantialaugmentation of #watersupplies; requiring the sufficient raising of #waterstoragecapacities, thus necessitating the completion of new large water storage projects.

#Waterquality is affected by both point and non-point sources of #pollution. These include #sewagedischarge, #dischargefromindustries, run-off from agricultural fields and urban run-off. #Waterquality is also affected by #floods and #droughts and can also arise from lack of #awareness and #education among users. The need for user involvement in maintaining water quality and looking at other aspects like #hygiene, #environmentsanitation, storage and disposal are critical elements to maintain the quality of water resources.

About 70 to 80% of #waterbornediseases in India are caused due to #contaminationofsurfaceandgroundwater due to discharge of untreated/partially treated sewage and #industrialeffluents into the #waterbodies. As such, policy intervention may be taken up by the concerned departments engaged in water supply and sanitation particularly in the rural and slum areas. Few well-designed environmental epidemiological studies are required to be undertaken to find out and to evaluate the magnitude of #healthimpacts and to develop strategies to prevent and #controlwaterbornediseases.

The health burden of poor water quality is enormous. It is estimated that around 37.7 million Indians are affected by waterborne diseases annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone and 73 million working days are lost due to waterborne disease each year. The resulting economic burden is estimated at $600 million a year. The problems of #chemicalcontamination are also prevalent in India with 1,95,813 habitations in the country are affected by poor water quality. The major chemical parameters of concern are #fluoride and #arsenic. Iron is also emerging as a major problem with many habitations showing excess iron in the water samples.

#WaterQualityProblems

The shortage of water in the country is slowly affecting the lives of people as well as the #environment around them. Some of the major issues that need urgent attention are:

As a result of excessive extraction of ground water to meet #agriculture, #industrial and #domesticdemands, #drinkingwater is not available during the critical summer months in many parts of the country.
About 10 per cent of the #rural and #urbanpopulation does not have access to regular safe drinking water and many more are threatened. Most of them depend on unsafe water sources to meet their daily needs. Moreover, water shortages in cities and villages have led to large volumes of water being collected and transported over great distances by tankers and pipelines
Chemical contaminants namely #fluoride, #arsenic and #selenium pose a very serious health hazard in the country. It is estimated that about 70 million people in 20 states are at risk due to excess fluoride and around 10 million people are at risk due to excess #arsenic in #groundwater. Apart from this, increase in the concentration of chloride, TDS, nitrate, iron in ground water is of great concern for a sustainable drinking water programme. All these need to be tackled holistically. With over extraction of groundwater the concentration of chemicals is increasing regularly.
Ingress of seawater into coastal #aquifers as a result of over-extraction of ground water has made water supplies more saline, unsuitable for drinking and #irrigation.
#Pollutionofgroundandsurfacewaters from agrochemicals (#fertilizers and #pesticides) and from #industry poses a major #environmentalhealthhazard, with potentially significant costs to the country. The #WorldBank has estimated that the total cost of environmental, damage in India amounts to US$9.7 billion annually, or 4.5 per cent of the gross domestic product. Of this, 59 per cent results from the #healthimpactsofwaterpollution.

According to the World Bank estimates, annual costs of urban and rural health impacts due to water pollution varies between US$ 83.44 billions and 30.76 billions out of the total annual costs of #environmentaldegradation varying between US$ 137.58 billions and 56.72 billions. Thus, water pollution accounts for about 60% of major annual environmental costs in India.

The understanding, monitoring and assessment of trends in water quality both of surface and ground water in relation to natural anthropogenic activities and pressures that control them are therefore essential pre-requisites in #waterresourcesdevelopment planning. There has been growing concern about limited scope and the fragmentation of groundwater quality research. The complex nature of India’s aquifers and limited knowledge on the chemistry of #groundwater is leading to a precautionary and risk based decisions by regulators, planners, and #agriculture. In order to improve upon such decisions there is imperative need to increase the knowledge base about groundwater quality problems and issues and remediation technologies.

In case of surface water, be it a river water or any other water body, situation is also steadily worsening. Quality puts constraints on utility even of available waters and hence needs particular attention. Unabated discharges of untreated effluents and non-point pollution is putting limitations on fresh water availability.

#SustainingWaterQuality

The urgency of long-term #waterqualitymonitoring offers opportunity for coordination and collaboration between local, state and regional agencies where ultimate goal is to ensure sustainability of sources and supplies. Towards this there is utmost need for appropriate knowledge and education of people to understand factors that control water quality and its trends. Such factors could be application of and changes in chemical use, #wateruse, and #landuse and above all the new factor of #climatechange. The understandings of these factors are of paramount impotence in adapting best-management practices and remediation programmes.

Monitoring over large area is neither possible nor practicle, particularly when host of constituents are to be analysed and monitored. Not-with standing impediments future success would lie in developing vulnerability and stastical models through continued improved collection of data on irrigation pump age, chemical use, land use and related factors of #climatechange.

Major challenges that face water resources’ scientists, technicians and managers relate to the problems of reliable information that will guide the use and protection of the nation’s water resources. Various organizations may be collecting #waterquality data for host of purposes that include uses of various types to which water of different quality standards is being put to, but the current efforts by various organizations for its limited purposes. It is seldom shared with others and there is no institutional arrangement for its continuous and systematic exchange which is need of time.

#WaterQualityMonitoringNetworks

In fulfillment of the requirements, particularly with regard to performing functions specified under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974, the #CPCB in collaboration with S#PCBs have established a country-wide network of water quality monitoring. The #PCBs in India are responsible to ensure that water quality is maintained at desired levels. In as much as PCBs assess nature and extent of pollution and its control in vogue, evaluate water quality trends and above all assesses fitness of water for various uses.

The National Water Quality Monitoring is being carried out at 870 locations which include 506 on rivers,55 in Lake #waterbodies and #ponds, 31 on #canals, #drains and 218 for #groundwatermonitoringinstates and UTs of India. Monitoring is carried out on monthly, quarterly and yearly basis. Water quality is in operation under 3-tier programme, a-tier through #GEMS, a-tier under #IndianNationalAquaticResourcesSystem (#INARS) and a-tier under #Yumnaactionplan. Under #NWQM programme, 9 core, 19 general parameters, 3 bio-monitoring parameters and 7 pesticides are determined.

#Groundwatercontamination is major problem in industrial belts. Also leakage from underground storage tanks and land-fill sites are major concerns. Ground water as such is vulnerable to contaminations as well as unmanaged extractions. #Agriculture, #industry, #mining and #urbanization lead to ground water quality degradation. In rural and urban areas the main problems and causes of ground water contamination are septic tanks, landfill sites, #fertilizers, #pesticides, #graveyards, and urban run-off and mucipal wastes.

Determining Water Quality

In India quality of water for drinking has guidelines and is being in a way regulated with use of standards set by Bureau of Indian Standards. Perhaps there is need or Clean Drinking water Act for strict regulatory compliances. The agricultural water use and landscape irrigation and urban and industrial water uses should also be subjected equally to regulations. Also, there is the need to develop guidelines and regulations for non-potable uses of water. The guidelines and regulations are also required to be put in place with regard to injecting water of potable and compatible quality where recharge to aquifer is by direct recharging method.

#WaterQualityAssessmentAuthority (#WQAA) has been constituted under #EnvironmentProtection Act (1986) with the mandate for protection of surface and ground water quality. The Authority is conferred with the powers under Section 5 of the #Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) for issuing directions and for taking measures with respect to the matters referred to in clauses (ix), (xi) (xii) and (xiii) of sub-section 2 of section 3 of the Act.

Conclusion

In order to ensure sustainable supply of qualitative water in both #rural and #urban areas of #India, it is essential that institutional mechanisms like #WQAA and #PCBs should develop proper #synergy with concerned instutions for smooth dsigning and #implementationofprogrammes, along with improved understanding on occurrence of pollution in ground water. Besides, equal emphasis needs to be stressed on up-gradation, standardization and strengthening of laboratories- sustainability of water quality monitoring infrastructure. The following additional measures would also be helpful:

Capacity building programmes for strengthening water quality and remediation measures. Need for capacity building and training for #WaterQualitydatamanagement & #remedialmeasures
R & D activities for #promotingresearchinwaterqualitymonitoring and management
#InstitutionalSupport, #Interministerialsynergies and areas of #PPPinWaterQualitymonitoring and remediation
Technical and policy support — #Developmentofhealth and #waterquality related #policies, #guidelines, #waterqualitymanagementprogramme and strengthening water quality monitoring & surveillance systems, #capacitybuilding, #Research & #Development etc. .
Toxic effluents should not be allowed to be discharged into the water bodies and emphasis should be made on #zerodischarge by way of #recycling and #reuse by such industries to the maximum extent possible.
The uptake of heavy metals by vegetables, cereals, fruits, grains etc. have been reported in certain areas and as such the consumption of such contaminated food has to be checked by the concerned Department of the Central/State Governments. Hence the #irrigation of agricultural fields with the treated/untreated effluent containing #heavymetals such as #chromium, #lead, #mercury, #arsenic etc. should not be allowed.