Sustainable water resources in India

Key idea on WJEC specification

1.6 Key question : What are the
environmental challenges and solutions
facing India?
The causes and consequences of
sustainable use of water resources
Case studies
Hydro electricity on the Ganges The Tehri Dam Project

Conflict over water resources in Southern India

Sustainable Water Management and the Swajal project

Ganga Action plan to clean up the River Ganges and the
Yamuna project

Rainwater Harvesting
Sustainable Water Management in India :A perspective
Defining Sustainable
Water Management

= The purpose of
Sustainable Water
Management (SWM) is
simply to manage our
water resources while
taking into account the
needs of present and
future users
Hydro electricity on the Ganges is it a
sustainable energy source ?
Indian scientists and engineers has issued an
urgent appeal to stop the building of a hydro-
electricity project on the Ganges. ( bbc news
2005)

They say underground tunnels for the dam will mean
that at least 60km of the river will disappear.
The development is called the :The Tehri Dam Project
The Indian central government
wants to build the 600 megawatt
power HEP project in the Bhagirathi
valley in the Himalayas, Northern
India.
But the engineers,
environmentalists and scientists say
the river will be irreparably harmed.
They say that the dam - planned to
be built at the source of the river -
threatens its natural flow.

Why does India need the HEP project?
India's electricity needs
have been growing rapidly
along with its fast growing
economy.
About a quarter of its power
is provided from hydro-
power plants.
The government says new
dams currently under
construction will go a long
way towards meeting
outstanding energy needs
to reduce dependence on
fossil fuels.

Rapid population growth,
urbanization and
industrialization will lead to a
greater demand for an
increasingly smaller supply of
water resources in India.

Policies for sustainable water development
To address the concerns of the Asian region, the World Water
Council formed a Regional Water Vision 2025 for South Asia.

Vision 2025 reflects the current position of South Asia on the
sustainable development of their water resources:

Poverty in South Asia will be eradicated and living conditions of all
people will be uplifted to sustainable levels of comfort, health and
well-being through co-ordinated and integrated development and
management of water resources in the region.

Fact file on the HEP project
The rivers Bhagirathi and Bhilangana rise in the Himalayas in
north-western Uttar Pradesh and flow south to the plains as the
Ganges.
As part of a larger plan to trap the waters of the Upper Ganges
basin, a three billion dollar clay core, rock fill dam is being
constructed at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana,
close to the town of Tehri.
The lake created by the dam will extend up to 45 kms in the
Bhagirathi Valley and 25 km in the Bhilangana Valley.

What are the consequences associated with the dam ?
The completed dam will displace 86,500 people
It will submerge several towns, among them the town of
Tehri
The region is vulnerable to earthquakes and the dam may be
structurally incapable of withstanding them or may perhaps
even cause them
Both the resettlement policies and the structural flaws of
the dam have provoked civil protests, lawsuits and
international attention that have repeatedly stalled the
project.
This is a dam built with our tears Sunderlal Bahuguna

Dam creation
unsustainability
The traditional approach to
solving competition issues has
been to develop further water
supplies with the construction of
dams, reservoirs or other
engineered structures.

However, even this is
becoming difficult since
the remaining water
resources are no longer
easily accessible and
readily developed at
reasonable costs.

Health and environmental issues unsustainabilty issues
There is a need to
combat water supply and
sanitation deficiencies, as
well as a need to prevent
pollution and manage
extreme events such as
floods and droughts.

Negative impacts of past
schemes: increased
prevalence of mosquitoes,
waterlogging and
salinization of agricultural
land, intrusion of salt
water into aquifers,
destruction of wetlands
and loss of biodiversity.

What are the benefits of the HEP scheme?
Projected benefits:
Final installed capacity of 2000 MW

Additional irrigation to 270,000 hectares

Stabilization to existing irrigation on 600,000
hectares

270 million gallons of drinking water per day to
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi

Conflict over water resources in Southern India
The southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu has filed a
petition in the country's
highest court seeking more
water from the Cauvery
River.

Tamil Nadu is locked in a
bitter dispute with
neighbouring Karnataka
over sharing water from
the Cauvery - which flows
through both states.
Facts from the BBC 2004 regarding the
conflict in Southern India
Political parties and farmers' organisations in Karnataka have
been protesting over the state government's decision to release
water from the river.

Most of the main political parties in the state have supported
the strike call.

Men from the Rapid Action Force, which specialises in controlling
riots, will be deployed at several places on Thursday, said
Bangalore's Police Commissioner HT Sangliana
The Swajal project sustainable water resource
project
The Swajal Project, in Uttar Pradesh, funded by the World
Bank, is a rural water supply and environmental sanitation
development project which aims to make a difference in
the lives of the poor communities of Uttar Pradesh.

It provides access to water and sanitation facilities to
villages in the hill and Bundelkhand regions.

It increased the living standard in Indian rural areas
through time savings and income opportunities for women,
and improved health, hygiene and gender awareness for all.
How are the villagers involved ?
Sustainability of the water
supply and sanitation system
depends on participation of
the villages in all aspects of
the development process,
including planning and
construction of the system, as
well as its daily operation and
maintenance.

The cost sharing component
of the project, requires the
villages to carry 10% of the
construction and 100% of the
operation and maintenance
costs, renders the full support
of the communities essential
to the projects success.

Fact file of the project
Total no. of villages covered: 26
Total population covered: 33,846
Total no. households covered: 6,507
Piped water scheme: executed in 3 villages
Total no. new hand pumps installed 81
Total no. hand pumps repaired 45
Total no. toilets constructed 425
Total no. compost pits constructed 14
Ganga Action plan to clean up the
River Ganges
`Ganga Action Plan bears
no fruit'
By Our Staff Reporter of the
Hindu newspaper:
NEW DELHI, AUG. 27
2004 . Despite heavy
investments towards
cleaning the Ganga,
pollution levels are just as
terrifying as before.

Why was the Ganga Action plan , launched in
1986 was unsustainable ?
1. There was a rise in pollution despite the construction
of sewage treatment plants at Varanasi, as a result of
poor power supply, faulty engineering and maintenance
problems.
2. According to environmentalists, about 90 per cent
of pollution into the river is caused by sewage
generation while only about 5 to 6 per cent can be
blamed on bathing and other activities. "While the real
sources of pollution -- sewage -- continues to flow into
the river
3. At Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh's
industrial hub, tanneries
regularly contaminate the Ganga
with chrome, and yet chrome
treatment plants set up by the
Government lie unused.

4. 250 million litres of sewage is
produced from Allahabad every
day, but the city has the
capacity to treat only 100 million
litres before it spills into the
river.
Rainwater Harvesting
Rainwater harvesting is the process of collecting,
filtering and storing water from roof tops, paved
and unpaved areas for multiple uses.

The harvested water can also be used for drinking
after treatment. The surplus water after usage
can be used for recharging ground water aquifers.
Balisana Village, Patan
District, Gujarat Rainwater harvesting project
The crops they grow are laden with traces of
fluoride. At present, almost all of the villagers
from early to middle aged population are
suffering from fluorosis or other fluoride related
diseases. Six years back, the villagers started a
community drive to solve the crisis, with help
from Ahmedabad-based non governmental
organisation, UTTHAN. The villagers started to
desilt a 3.05 metre (m) long canal through
which they diverted rainwater to a 300-year-old
tank.
They hope to solve this problem by
regularly recharging the groundwater
table with rainwater. The villagers have
evolved laws to protect the resource like,
no new tube wells will be dug and water
from the well will be first used for drinking
purposes and then can be used for
irrigation.
Yamuna project, New Delhi
Its a Rs.15-billion project to decrease the
levels of pollution in the Yamuna river by
trapping pollutants at major sewage drains.

With the aim that only clean water from the
entire city flows into the river

Problems ?
But in July 2009 the government said the water
quality of the Yamuna river has not shown desired
improvement

This was due to a large gap between the demand
and availability of sewage treatment capacity and
lack of fresh water in the river.
Thanks to the following people for
the images
www.flickr.com
www.uttranchaltourism.blogsplot.com
www.hps.scot.nhs.uk