When the well is dry, we learn the value of water.

Benjamin Franklin


So true! One of the strongest memories of my early years in Delhi was of the chronic water
shortage that would grip us during the scorching summers, and how we would carry buckets
of water collected from Delhi Jal Board tankers to our second floor flat. My siblings and I
would eagerly wait for our annual trips to my maternal grandparents house in Allahabad. Oh,
what a treat it was to splash each other with mugs full of water during those balmy evenings.
We kids would lavishly pour buckets full of water, pumped through a bore-well, on every
square inch of the huge courtyard, preparing for our nights sleep under the star-studded night
sky. It is one of my favourite memories of the vacations spent in that beautiful town of
Prayag, a witness to the holy fusion of the three most important rivers of north India. And yet
today I wince at the way we wasted water with such gay abandon. Every time I read an
announcement of water shortage in the newspaper, my guilt bubbles up to the surface, and
chides me for having been so wasteful of such a precious resource.
Water is indeed precious because out of the total amount of water present on earth, only 2.5
per cent is fresh water, stored in glaciers and as ground water, and sustaining life on this
planet. Humans have access to less than 0.08 per cent of all the Earths water. Yet over the
next two decades, our use is estimated to increase by about 40 per cent. Apparently, it takes
around 1000 litres of water to produce one litre of milk and around 1,600 litres to produce
one kg of wheat bread. One kg of rice requires 3000 litres of water.
What are the problems?
India comes under the water-stressed category, according to a 2011 report by the United
Nations. Quite surprising for a land blessed with an abundance of perennial rivers
crisscrossing throughout its terrain. But then as researchers point out, the increasing water
scarcity in India is man-induced. Traditionally, India has been well endowed with large fresh
water reserves, but the increasing population and overexploitation of surface and ground
water over the past few decades has resulted in water scarcity in some regions. Moreover,
India being an agro-based economy, around 89 per cent (as per a survey in 2006) of available
water is consumed for agricultural purposes, while nine per cent and two per cent are
consumed for domestic and industrial purposes respectively. Also, agro-based industries such
as textiles, sugar and fertilisers are among the top producers of waste water. Inefficient
irrigation also wastes water resources.
Indias water scarcity is due to many factors, with administrative mismanagement securing
the top slot. Improper planning of urban infrastructure continues to add pressure on the
surface water and groundwater depletion because of the high influx in the urban areas.
Modernised techniques to source water, like hand pumps and bore-wells, have led to a rapid
decline of groundwater. Poor sanitation planning, for example in Delhi, is the reason behind
the present-day condition of the river Yamuna. Not only that, the waters of Yamuna are
saturated with toxic industrial waste along with untreated water from sewage plants as well as
from open drains.
Moreover, the increase in per capita income and standard of living in the past three decades
has led to a water-intensive urban lifestyle in India. Domestic contribution to the total water
consumption is projected to increase from five per cent in 2000 to 11 per cent by 2050. Also,
per capita water consumption is expected to double from 89 litres per day in 2000 to 167
litres per day by 2050. Cities are facing severe water shortage. According to a Grail Research
report in 2005, 65 per cent of households across seven major cities faced water deficiency
with metros like Delhi and Chennai reaching out to distant rivers that are 250 km and 450 km
away, respectively.
Perhaps more than anything else, it has been the separatist and fragmented modern approach
that has sounded a death knell to water sources. Where earlier, India practised sustainable and
cyclical water management, modern methods of using piped water, bore wells, motorised
pumps rather than community wells, have placed unprecedented pressure on water supplies.
Rejoice, we have a lower water footprint
Water footprint is the amount of freshwater consumed directly and indirectly by an
individual. Indias water footprint is 980 cubic meters per capita per year (according to
Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2008 report), considerably lower than the world average. Being a
predominantly vegetarian nation helps the cause as 30 per cent of the total population
consumes a plant-based diet. However, its increasing population collectively makes the
countrys overall footprint 12 per cent of the worlds total.
Greed at play
Water scarcity has created quite a furore at the global level. There is no person on this planet
that hasnt been affected by it. We have seen so many initiatives and drives, funded by
governments across the world, to sensitise people about the judicious use of water. But has it
really made a difference? One can still see a criminal wastage of water everyday across every
strata of society, starting from the administration itself. On my way to work I pass the water
tanker station of the Delhi Jal Board where tankers are filled to cater to water scarce areas.
Most times, they are filled so much higher than capacity, that gallons of water spill out within
a few minutes of the tankers starting. Else a leaky tap at the back will leave a trail of
freshwater on the road. How difficult is it to monitor the amount of water filled in the tanker,
knowing that the moving vehicle will cause water to spill unnecessarily? Or how difficult is it
to use a bucket instead of a hose-pipe to wash your car or your pavement? Or to report a
broken pipe spewing water in a community park to the authorities? Both, the administration
and we, the citizens, need to awaken from this apathy.
In our greed to embrace urbanisation, we have started losing touch with our ground realities.
We have left behind our community wells and started pumping water into our houses, first
with hand pumps and then with motor pumps, sucking out ground water, unmindful of the
fact that we are depleting the ground water content without replenishing it. We have been
behaving greedily, with no regard for the forthcoming generation and neither for other life
forms on earth.
Water management at micro level
Water scarcity is not a problem of a few. It affects all of us; it affects the whole community.
As John F Kennedy once said, Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can
do for your country. Can we not take over the responsibility of managing the way we use
water? We can all practice water management be it rain water harvesting, water
conservation, or groundwater replenishment.
Rain water harvesting is something that we all can do whether we live in rural or urban
India, says Farhad Contractor, Founder of Sambhaav Trust. We have taken too much for
granted for too long. And now, we are suffering from the dependency syndrome, he says,
adding, We dont respect ourselves, hence we dont respect our ecology. Farhad Contractor
has been working on rejuvenation and revival of ecological systems along with the
community for over 22 years. He works extensively in the Thar Desert as well as in several
states in North and Central India. His work is his passion, a fact borne out by his considerable
body of work. This includes working with around 600,000 people to rejuvenate and revive
more than 9,000 structures such as tanks, ponds, lakes, and wells. He has also worked on
reviving three rivers in Rajasthan. and worked to conserve and revive forests in various states
of India. He is also involved in reviving and strengthening community-based and owned
sustainable agricultural practices.
In order to offset the dependence on groundwater especially in urban areas, Farhad advocates
developing ground models that ensure long-term sustainability. Community effort will
always be more sustainable than individual efforts. Also, when you work with others, the
whole process stops being a burden, and becomes filled with love, he says. According to
him, one can collect around two lakh litres of water in a tank per rainfall if one installs a rain
water harvesting system at the building rooftop. It only costs Rs 10,000 per house in an
apartment system, which can be seen as a one-time investment. Alternatively, we can also
prepare catchment areas for rainwater in the society compound. This helps in recharging the
groundwater level of the area which works for the greater good, he says hopefully, adding,
Water management is not only about saving water. It is about living a better life,
maintaining a beautiful and sustainable way of living.
Capacity building
Involving community is a must for it enables a sustainable process, says Dr Yogesh Jadeja,
adding, We are in a crisis because communities are not in direct control of their water
resources. Dr Jadeja is the Director of Arid Communities and Technologies (ACT), an
organisation that has been active in Bhuj and Kutch areas of Gujarat since 2004. We at ACT
try to leverage the potential of the community as a resource for water management. We focus
on knowledge-based research and planning, institution building, capacity building at the rural
level, documentation, and dissemination of information. This ensures an ongoing sustainable
process while involving the local youth and guaranteeing a source of income to them.


Cattle troughs with water storage tank at Rampar vandh, Kutch
Gazala Paul, Managing Trustee of Samerth Trust, talks about the significance of local
leadership in bringing about a change at the micro level. Samerth works in Chattisgarh and
the Kutch. We work with panchayats to source and empower local leadership. A direct
involvement of local representatives in policy making and planning strategies brings rigour to
the process. With the help of local leadership, we were able to construct around 20 drinking
water assets in 20 villages of the Rapar block of the Kutch district, she shares. These
drinking assets comprise revived ponds and lakes throughout the block.

Daily urban water consumption
According to an estimate by Central Public Works Department (CPWD) for urban places, around 40
litres of water is used per capita per day, and another 25 litres in washing clothes. In total, around
137 litres of water is consumed per capita, per day. In reality, less than 85 litres per day is made
available in most urban centres.

Going back to tradition
India has an indigenous heritage of environment protection. Our ancestors perfected the art of
water harvesting and water conveyance systems specific to eco-regions and culture. From the
rough terrain of Himalayas to the northern plains, from the arid areas of Rajasthan and Kutch
to the fertile Deccan, there were a number of traditional water harvesting and conservation
techniques that ensured optimum water supply to all.
Traditionally, water resources were planned and conserved for at least three years. The catchment areas of rain
water were diverted to community ponds. Water storage structures were also constructed. People had a
geological solution, then, says Dr Jadeja. He implemented a watershed project in the Kutch region and
encouraged a decentralised drinking water model. I got to know that every rivulet has an aquifer (an
underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock or unconsolidated materials gravel, sand, or silt from
which groundwater can be extracted) and since then, I have been using these aquifers for setting up a storage
system for drinking water. I rediscovered and reinvented a traditional system which was lost, he adds.
In 1985, degraded and barren land in the catchment areas of Arvari river and extended drought had forced
people to migrate out of their villages in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. The river had disappeared in the 1940s.
In 1997, with the construction of a traditional johad system (rainwater storage tanks indigenous to Rajasthan) the
river was revived once again. This miracle was a collective effort of the community as well as Rajendra Singhs
Tarun Bharat Sangh (TBS). Johads and dams are usually built on small tributaries uphill and they directly benefit
the forests on the hill. In the Arvari project, the beneficiaries were not only the community but also other life
forms, for the construction of johads not only revived the river but also the forest alongside it. 30 per cent of the
construction cost was footed by the community, and the rest was obtained by support agencies through TBS.
This also ensured involving of communities directly with monthly gram sabha meetings.

A revived lake in Ramgarh region of Jaisalmer
Ahar-pyne is a traditional floodwater harvesting system indigenous to south Bihar. With the help of
this system, Magadh Jal Jamaat (MJJ), a network of progressive individuals in Gaya, has successfully
revived over a dozen abandoned water sources. These pynes were a significant source of water that
catered to the needs of Nalanda University and fed around 52 water bodies in the Magadh region in
ancient India. However, modern development brought in hand pumps for pumping drinking water but
the decline of the aquifer caused them to go defunct. The ahar-pyne embankments got dilapidated,
pynes became conduits of waste water and ponds became the new dumping grounds for solid
wastes. The water used for irrigation was also dug up, resulting in failed crops and large scale
migration from Gaya. In 2006, MJJ revived the Saryutalaa band and later on the Jamune Dasain in
Gaya city with the help of Army Service Corps, Gaya, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), police
officials, professors, students, doctors and farmers. The revival of this pond set in motion a surge of
constructive forces in the region and soon the effects witnessed the revival of ahar-pynes. Around 17
panchayats benefited from the revival of the 28-km long Chapardha pyne.
Know your water footprint
You can calculate your own water footprint by logging onto www.waterfootprint.org and clicking on
http://www.waterfootprint.org/index.php?page=cal/Water Footprint Calculator. This calculator has
been developed by the researchers at UNESCO-IHE based on the water requirements per unit of
product as per ones country of residence. According to the website, water footprint of a product is the
volume of fresh water appropriated to produce the product, taking into account the volumes of water
consumed and polluted in the different steps of the supply chain.
You can do it too
1. Invest in a rain water harvesting system for your building. It costs roughly around Rs 10,000 per
family and is a modest investment for a green and bountiful future.
2. Open the tap to a trickle only instead of going full throttle. We do not need water running at a high
speed for most of our daily chores unless we are filling a vessel.
3. Replace the flush tanks in the toilet with dual flush system. This saves upto 67 per cent of water.
4. If you have an old flush tank, then fill a 500 ml plastic soft drink bottle with sand, seal the cap
tightly, and place it in the flush tank. This will ensure a lesser amount of water used in every flush
while maintaining the pressure with which the flush works.
5. Keep a check on any leaky tap and faucet in your house. Get it mended immediately to prevent
freshwater wastage.
6. Make a habit of taking a bucket bath instead of a shower. This measured approach reduces
water usage by at least five to seven litres per bath.
7. Or else, install a low-flow shower head. It saves upto eight litres of water per minute.
8. Invest in a front loading washing. It uses 40 per cent less water, saving upto 100 litres per wash.
Better still, wash your clothes manually
9. Wash your veggies, fruits, rice and lentils in a colander of water instead of using running water.
This used water can be then used to water your potted plants.
10. For utensil washing, fix a foam tap or shower head on your kitchen tap since this activity needs
water spread, not volume.
11. Designate a single water bottle or a tumbler for each member of the house for drinking water
throughout the day. This will save the water used in washing the refill glasses.
12. Carry a water bottle whenever stepping out of your home. Itll save you buying water from
outside, not only reducing your water footprint, but also helping a little to curb the privatisation of
water.
13. Use a sprinkler instead of a hose-pipe to water your lawns. It is a one-time investment that will
save a huge amount of water.
Water Hero


S Chandra Shekar: doing his bit to save and store rain water
S Chandra Shekar: doing his bit to save and store rain waterS Chandra Shekar is a Bangalorean who
gradually turned into a local hero for something as seemingly simple as keeping his traditional well in
good condition. From the start, we dug our own well and struck good water at a depth of 35 feet. This
well water helped us for many years until the Water Department laid pipelines and supplied piped
water to our area. Till then our only source of water was our well, says the septuagenarian. Once
piped water came, many other houses in the area abandoned their wells, and turned them into
garbage pits. In 1993, Bangalore had a severe water shortage and with the growth of the city and the
burgeoning population, the demand for water was enormous. At one time Bangalore had over 1,000
lakes and surface water bodies. But over the years, development and construction activities killed the
lakes and dried them up. Catchment areas and supply routes were encroached upon, and no
rainwater could reach the water bodies. Sensing the forthcoming trouble, I made percolation pits near
and around the well, ran pipes around the roof top and collected all the rooftop rainwater and directed
them to the percolation pits. What a glorious sight it used to be when it rained and the percolation pits
overflowed. As soon as the rain stopped, in just about 20 minutes the percolation pits, being columns
of water like a test tube, fed the water to the ground. Next day one could see the feeding of water into
the well. In 24 hours, the water level in the well used to rise by 10 feet. That is how I experimented
and created the method to harvest rain water, he shares.
Over the years, he improved the system and introduced a filter to clean the rain water. I have now
decommissioned the percolation pits from the system and have pipes from the filter taking the water
directly to the well. During the monsoon season the well brims and glistens with water, he adds. He
also urged others to do the same and collect water in underground tanks if not a well. People from
across the states visited him and Chandra Shekar, like a true hero, helped them implement rainwater
harvesting systems in their houses. Gradually, old and defunct bore-wells, open wells and lakes came
back to life.
Ask him about the challenges he faced and he mentions overcoming people\s apathy and inertia at
the top. Many people are aware of and are interested in rainwater harvesting, but very few implement
the project. It does not cost much money. One has to spend only on piping, filter and a tank. Plumbing
and labour charges are minimal. But still, there is a mental block when it comes to doing the job and
implementing the idea. Piped water has spoilt mankind. The ease of getting water from a running tap
and shower has made man lazy. The day when water is no more available is not far off. Then it is this
harvested water that will save us, he explains. He motivates people by doing all the plumbing work
himself. Every building has potential for rainwater harvesting. The solutions are simple and cost-
effective. It is just that the people should do it now and at once. Catch the water where it falls and
feed it to the ground or into a tank. Water is life. Where there is water, there is hope for humanity, he
adds.

Drip irrigation with a twist
Ramesh Parmar, a small farmer in Rotala village in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh, has devised a
simple, inexpensive and effective way of drip irrigating crops. Drip irrigation, although an effective
method, is quite a costly affair, more so for the poor farmers of MP. The idea of using saline bottles
struck him when he attended a workshop conducted on innovative techniques of farming in 2012.
While the experts there suggested using an earthen pot with a hole, Parmar thought it to be
impractical and started thinking of an alternative to it. He then bought around 600 bottles for his 60
bigha land where he grew bitter gourds and papaya. He constructed a water tank with a tap, filled a
bucket in the field using a plastic pipe, and manually filled the bottles.
The whole affair cost Parmar around Rs 2,000. This method of trickle irrigation involves slowly
dripping water using emitters or drippers onto soil close to the roots of the plant. Frequent dripping
helps maintain optimum soil moisture for plant growth. With Parmars innovative twist to this
technique, it has become cost-effective and much more usable for farmers growing vegetables,
flowers, and orchard and plantation crops.


Little things make a difference
I laid a layer of mulch, which comprised dry leaves and wood chips, in my lawn, that I had collected
plentifully while building my house, says Anjali Ratnaker, painter and housemaker, Lucknow. This
was a small but significant step taken by her to increase water retention in the soil, in turn reducing
the amount needed to water the lawn.
Manorama Bannerji, an elderly housemaker from Delhi, uses earthen pots to water her small kitchen
garden. She has devised an irrigation system with the help of some bamboo sticks and earthen pots
to water her vegetables. The idea struck me while offering water to a shivling in the local temple. I
then bought a few earthen pots, carefully made holes in their bottoms and placed them in the garden
with the help of some bamboo sticks. This process ensured controlled moisture to the soil, without
getting it water logged or too dry, she says. Though it is a bit painstaking to change the cracked pots
from time to time, it does ensure saving a huge amount of water, along with a good yield of
vegetables.
Intent matters
Meet Arun Krishnamurthy, who left his high paying Google job to found the Environmentalist
Foundation of India that has restored around six lakes in the country till now. All of 27, Chennai-based
Arun says, Lake restoration is an important initiative because a clean and restored lake not only
serves us humans, but is also home to many life forms. Arun, along with his peers in EFI, plans to
restore at least 20 lakes across the country in the next five years. I left my corporate job because I
realised life was not about materialistic gains. I found a connect with the work I am doing currently,
he shares.
Septuagenarian Aabid Surti is also an inspiring example of what each of us can do if we but wish to.
Surti reaches out to societies near his house in Mumbai every Sunday with a plumber in tow and fixes
leaky taps and faucets free of cost. He started this initiative in 2007. It has now developed into a fully
fledged foundation called Drop Dead with his persistent efforts. A cartoonist and writer by profession,
Surti saved around 4.14 lakh litres of water in the launch year of the campaign. Since then he has
saved around a million litres of water with his one-man army and undaunted perseverance towards
water conservation.
Did these people spend a huge amount of money to help the community? No. All they did is lead by
example; showing ways of using water minimally. It was their determination that took them out of their
comfort zone; it is the compassion in their hearts for this planet, for the lives around that motivates
them to carry on. All we need is a compassionate heart to bring about a change. Lets conserve water
for the love of this planet, for the love of our environment, and for the love of life itself. As the pop
band Blues lyrics go
One love oh, I do believe
One love is all we need.