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Urban India: in troubled waters
The time has come when water can no longer be considered as a free good. People, especially urban dwellers, have to pay the real price of this basic necessity, if economic growth and social well-being are to be sustained for longer periods in our country,
writes Archna Chatterjee
Cities are to a large extent the product of selfish pursuits. People settle, work, trade and invest in the city primarily to serve their own ends, rather than those of the city as a whole. Often these self- serving pursuits unintentionally contribute to environmental problems, undermining public health and sustainability. Global urbanisation has been one of the defining features of this century, and as we move into the next one, close to half the world's residents would be urbanites.
The trend of urbanisation has been characteristically visible in the Indian context too. Currently, 28 per cent of our population is urban, residing in 23 metropolises with a population of more than one million each, and five mega cities with a population of more than five million each. By the year 2050, the urban population has been projected to reach the 50 per cent mark, with the number of cities growing concomitantly to 80 metropolitan cities, and 20 mega cities! Our cities, already reeling under a water crisis along with a host of other problems, would be severely ill-equipped to handle urban water requirements which are expected to double from 25 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 1990, to 52 BCM by the year 2025. Recent estimations predict that India is going to be water stressed by 2017. Water is a natural resource, for which urban growth is a critical parameter. The predicted unprecedented urban growth is a matter of serious concern, defining the water challenge of the 21st century.
Urban conglomerations are water intensive by their very nature. Lifestyles adopted by its inhabitants (piped water supply, flush toilets etc.) only add to its woes. Urban dwellers eat more meat and water intensive crops: each kilo of wheat requires some 500 litres of water, a kilo of rice upto 2000 litres, while a kilo of meat requires some 20-50 thousand litres of water. Automobiles, the hallmark of urban centres, have production processes that are highly water intensive. The production of one car consumes directly and indirectly about 400 cubic metres of water. These are but a few examples of the rapidly increasing consumptive nature of our cities and towns. 
Meeting human demands for water in the next century will increasingly depend on non -structural solutions, and a completely new approach to planning and management. The most important single goal of this new paradigm is proper water management. It follows that in the urban context, highly subsidised supply management policies and engineering approaches (dams, diversions and pipelines) need to be urgently replaced with demand management; increasing the efficiency of usage at all levels; increasing the efficiency with which water is supplied; and pricing water to reflect its full cost, using water- saving technologies and environmentally sensitive engineering.
Flush toilets, the mark of urban lifestyle, are also its misfortune, as they use precious potable water. There is urgent need to streamline design specifications for flush systems to facilitate the changeover from the conventional system using 13.5 litres per flush, to that of one requiring 6 litres per flush. A single change in technology without any change in lifestyle, backed by strong implementation could lead to a decrease in water required to flush toilets by more than 70 percent. The latest pressure assisted toilets using under two litres per flush are even more effective. To start with, rebate programmes could be introduced, offering residential customers money for every high flow toilet that they replace with low flow models. Local community programmes could be launched for door-to-door marketing efforts, urging households to replace inefficient toilets. Promulgating water efficiency standards for all residential faucets, showerheads and flush toilets could eventually result in a decrease of 20 per cent in all domestic water uses.
Additional savings can result from water efficiency improvements in washing machines. These are fast becoming part of middle-income group households. Many are top loaders and far less efficient than front loading machines. A recent study suggests that replacing the top loading machines with efficient front-loading models has the potential to reduce water used for washing clothes by between 33 and 39 percent.
Water productivity can also be improved in outdoor gardens, municipal lawns, golf courses and other urban landscapes. Improvements in watering efficiency could reduce the demands substantially as could changes in the composition of these gardens. 'Xeriscaping', the use of drought resistant plants, is currently being pursued in all major US cities. Outdoor municipal and institutional landscape irrigation should be done with reclaimed water, completely eliminating the use of potable water for this purpose.
Water supply has so far been treated as a social service and welfare measure, leading to its wastage and abuse. The time has come to treat water as an economic good and not a free commodity. Higher water prices can be an effective way of curbing aggregate demand as long as strict metering, billing and revenue collection actually take place. While low volume users are less likely to respond to price changes, high volume users (with declining marginal utility), such as industries, commercial establishments and also affluent households should reduce water consumption in response to higher water prices. Privatization on a limited scale could be carried out to enhance the efficiency of the sector.
Modern technologies of urban water supply enable cities to draw on distant water sources, but for how long? Beyond a point, this system becomes unsustainable, both economically and environmentally. More efficient water systems, reducing leaks and wastage while stimulating intelligent water use, can make cities healthier to live in and less strenuous to the natural systems on which they depend.
Courtesy WWF - India Features
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