Water Management

Repairs, Maintenance and Water Distribution Problems.

***Dr.S.Tarakeswara rao **M.P.Suri Ganesh *M.Karteek

ABSTRACT
India continues to struggle with growing financial crunch to complete its water sector infrastructure and its operation and maintenance cost. On the other hand, inadequate institutional reforms and effective implementation has affected its performance level. In recent years, the Government of India has initiated several steps to improve investment and management of water management sector, which includes: Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme, Hydrology Project, setting up of Water Quality Assessment Authority, Command Area Development and water management programme, National Project for Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies directly linked to Agriculture, Flood Management, and River Basin Organizations. Growing demand across competitive sectors, increasing droughts, declining water quality, particularly of groundwater, and unabated flooding, inter-state river disputes, growing financial crunch, inadequate institutional reforms and enforcement are some of the crucial problems faced by the countrys water sector. Availability of safe drinking water is inadequate. Severe water shortages have already led to a growing number of conflicts between users (agriculture, industry, domestic), intrastate and inter-state. Emerging challenges include management of existing infrastructure and of the water resource itself. Water reform in India mostly focuses on organizational issues rather than the instruments that govern the relationship between the regulator and the user.

___________________________________________________________ Introduction
Water management is the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. Water management planning has regard to all the competing demands for water and seeks to allocate water on an equitable basis to satisfy all uses and demands. This is rarely possible in practice. Provision of canal irrigation and water supply services in India has largely remained with the government agencies. Absence of enforceable water entitlements at all levels is at the root of service shortcomings, water use inefficiency, and unregulated groundwater extraction, negligence of traditional and low-cost water bodies, financial problems and conflicts which plague the water sector. *** Teaching associate Dr.B.R.Ambedkar University, Etcherla, Srikakulam. ** Ph.D scholar Department of commerce and management studies, Dr.B.R. Ambedkar University, Etcherla, Srikakulam.
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*Assistant professor in sri Venkateswara College of engineering & technology, Etcherla, Srikakulam. Faced with poor water supply services, farmers and urban dwellers have resorted to helping themselves by pumping out groundwater, which has led to rapidly declining water tables; in coastal areas this trend has led to salinity ingress. Financial crunch has also led to an enormous backlog of maintenance and thereby, inadequate performance levels of irrigation projects. Distortion in pricing of water services has further induced substantial overall economic costs by enlarging the gulf between prices and costs. Some of the causal factors are: inadequate revenue generation, chronically under-funded Operation and Maintenance (O&M) costs, revenues not channeled directly to expenditure, inappropriate prioritization of government expenditures.

Water resources
Water is an essential resource for all life on the planet. Of the water resources on Earth only three per cent of it is not salty and two-thirds of the freshwater is locked up in ice caps and glaciers. Of the remaining one per cent, a fifth is in remote, inaccessible areas and much seasonal rainfall in monsoonal deluges and floods cannot easily be used. At present only about 0.08 per cent of the entire worlds fresh water. is exploited by mankind in ever increasing demand for sanitation, drinking, manufacturing, leisure and agriculture Successful management of any resources requires accurate knowledge of the resource available, the uses to which it may be put, the competing demands for the resource, measures to and processes to evaluate the significance and worth of competing demands and mechanisms to translate policy decisions into actions on the ground. For water as a resource this is particularly difficult since sources of water can cross many national boundaries and the uses of water include many that are difficult to assign financial value to and may also be difficult to manage in conventional terms. Examples include rare species or ecosystems or the very long term value of ancient ground water reserves.

Agriculture: water's biggest consumer

Agriculture is the largest user of the world's freshwater resources, consuming 70 per cent. Industry uses a further 20 per cent and municipalities account for the remaining ten per cent. As the world's population rises and consumes more food (currently exceeding 6%, it is expected to reach 9% by 2050), industries and urban developments expand, and the emerging bio-fuel crops trade also demands a share of freshwater resources, water scarcity is becoming an important issue. An assessment of water management in agriculture was conducted in 2007 by the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka to see if the world had sufficient water to provide food for its growing population. It assessed the current availability of water for agriculture on a global scale and mapped out locations suffering from water scarcity. It found that a fifth of the world's people, more than 1.2 billion, live in areas of physical water scarcity, where there is not enough water to meet all demands. A further 1.6 billion people live in areas experiencing economic water scarcity, where the lack of investment in water or insufficient human capacity makes it impossible for authorities to satisfy the demand for water.

Irrigation management: water user associations and NGOs

An increasing number of private sector groups, including water user associations and other NGOs are taking over some public sector irrigation responsibilities. The inclusion of water users in irrigation planning, management and ownership is proving to be an effective method for increasing irrigation system efficiency in many cases. Studies throughout the world demonstrate that user participation in irrigation services improves access to information, reduces monitoring costs, and establishes a sense of ownership among farmers and increases transparency as well as accountability in decision-making. Water user associations are expected to increase in number and importance over the next decade as the stress on self-reliance increases.
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Already, governments are turning many aspects of public irrigation systems over to water user associations. Well-documented examples can be seen in Argentina, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Tunisia. In Indonesia, for example, the government had transferred more than 400 irrigation systems, covering 34 000 ha, to water user associations by 1992. 62 In the future, as farmer financing becomes more commonplace, user groups will become even more powerful.bid. Other NGOs undertake a wide range of water-related functions, from developing projects for rural water supplies and minor irrigation to fostering water user associations for water management purposes. Some NGOs encourage farmers to try new technologies, for example the catchment protection and sprinkler irrigation techniques introduced by the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme in Gujarat, India. Many NGOs stem from local initiatives and operate as independently funded and self-managed groups. These organizations bring fresh views, new ideas and participatory working methods to other areas of development policy and practice. Much of their success is attributed to their local knowledge as well as their interest in and experience of regional conditions. They have been particularly active in promoting the interests of poor and disadvantaged groups through articulate and forceful advocacy and service provision. In addition, the local base of NGOs may allow them to reach vulnerable or remote groups which are exceptionally difficult to reach with conventional public schemes. Water is not an easy sector in which to promote cooperation, but the potential gains are high, which makes renewed efforts worthwhile. Resolution of many water allocation and development problems requires a common willingness to forego personal benefit for the social good. Government efforts to promote personal sacrifice through economic policies, laws and regulations that require self-restraint, such as water rationing or optimum groundwater pumping regimes, have seldom proved effective. On the other hand, with their close local contacts and skills in group mobilization and cohesion, NGOs can provide the institutional leadership required to bring about socially optimum solutions. variables in development.
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further information on NGOs, see M. Cernea. 1985. Putting people first: sociological

Water management repairs Structural deficiencies in tanks, reservoirs, valves, fittings and pipe work may offer direct routes for the contamination of water supplies with pathogens. This will depend on the environment surrounding the different components of the distribution system and the water pressure. Emergencies will generate low pressures in most conventional distribution systems. Most tanks, reservoirs and fittings are accessible for inspection and planned maintenance. They should be prioritized according to sanitary risks, and surveyed and maintained in accordance with those risks. The survey and maintenance of service reservoirs is especially important because of the large populations served by these structures and the absence of internal water pressure at potential contamination points. There are sound hygienic reasons for maintaining the internal cleanliness of pipe work. Although there are no reports of health effects directly attributed to deposits in pipes, they do provide conditions for proliferation of microorganisms and animals. This may make the water unpalatable and make it difficult to identify contamination of hygienic significance by routine monitoring. The deposits also hinder the maintenance of a disinfectant residual, especially in the smaller diameter pipes which are at greatest risk of low pressures and hence contamination. Pipe cleaning programmes can be used to maintain the internal cleanliness of a network. They require careful planning to be effective and to prevent flow conditions that may allow system contamination. It is important to assess normal flow velocities and pressures, and the effects on these of the work being planned. A network hydraulic model will help in this assessment. An important hygienic requirement is to avoid low or negative pressures in, and adjacent to, those parts of the network being cleaned. When using swabs or injected air to clean pipe work, the materials and fixtures are potential sources of contamination and therefore the hygienic practices described in Chapter 5 should be followed.

Maintenance and Survey of Reservoirs, Tanks and Fittings

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Structural deficiencies in tanks and reservoirs may lead to the direct contamination of water supplies with pathogens. Also, sediments may form in tanks and reservoirs due to the relatively low flow velocities that are a feature of these structures. Although such sediments are unlikely to be of direct health significance, they make it difficult to maintain a disinfectant residual. If the water level of the reservoir drops rapidly, accumulated sediments can be drawn into the pipe work, where they are difficult to remove and have an even greater effect on disinfectant residual and general microbial activity than in the reservoir. Faulty seals, joints or connections on valves, hydrants and washouts may also allow contamination of the system. This is unlikely if the system is operating at design pressures because the leakage flow will be from the pipe outwards. However, low or negative pressures may draw in contamination. The occurrence of low and negative pressures can be extensive during emergencies. For example, surge modeling on three well-operated systems in the USA demonstrated that conditions such as the loss of pumping power, fire flow and pipe breaks created low or negative pressures at up to nearly 30% of the pipe intersection points (nodes) incorporated in the models (AWWARF,2001). Where supplies are intermittent, contamination is likely to occur, and it may be difficult to operate the system to reduce the risks of backflow. In managing risks from intermittent supplies, it is important to reduce the hazards that may cause contamination and the risks of ingress of water contaminated with faecal material. Reducing intermittence will require careful analysis of both the causes and the solutions. The management of water demand and the implementation of water conservation measures such as hosepipe bans can provide rapid, long-lasting solutions. However, these measures may be insufficient where the infrastructure needs to be reinforced (e.g. by providing storage tanks and service reservoirs), or repaired, to prevent leakage and wastage in the distribution system.

MAINTENANCE AND SURVEY OF PIPES

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Externally-derived pathogens can potentially persist within deposits in a pipeline (see Section 1.3.3), and can present an underlying health concern if resuspended with the deposits and then consumed. Although there are no reports of health effects directly attributed to this mechanism, maintaining the internal cleanliness of the network is a prudent objective. Deposits provide an environment for the proliferation of microorganisms and animals, which may make the water unpalatable. This may result in consumers turning to alternative potentially unsafe sources, and may also make it difficult to identify contamination of hygienic significance by routine monitoring. The deposits also hinder the maintenance of a disinfectant residual, especially in the smaller diameter pipes, which are at greatest risk of low pressures and hence contamination. Strategies for pipe networks The most important problems associated with networks are: hygienic water-quality problems aesthetic water-quality problems hydraulic deficiencies structural performance problems Leakage. Hygienic water-quality problems are clearly the most important of these; however, identifying the best solution requires information about the other problems. This can be a complex process because of the variety of pipe materials and pipe ages usually found in a network, and the fact that a relatively small part of a pipeline may be responsible for a problem. Many utilities have found that a programme of regular mains cleaning to remove loose deposits and animal infestations has been of great assistance in maintaining water quality in distribution. A range of activities and solutions may be available, such as simple flushing of selected pipe lengths, swabbing, relining pipes with either structural or nonstructural linings and mains renewal. The costs and complexity of these are obviously different and dictate that problems are investigated in a systematic way based on performance data. These strategic investigation and
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planning procedures, which should also consider the future demands on the system, are beyond the scope of this review. Representative methodologies for systematic rehabilitation planning have been published (Evins, Liebeschuetz & Williams, 1989; AWWA, 2001; Lei & Sgrov, 1998; Herz, 1998). WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORK

The product, delivered to the point of consumption, is called fresh water if it receives little or no treatment, or drinking water if the treatment achieves the water quality standards required for human consumption.

Once treated, chlorine is added to the water and it is distributed by the local supply network. Today, water supply systems are typically constructed of plastic, ferrous, or concrete circular pipe. However, other "pipe" shapes and material may be used, such as square or rectangular concrete boxes, arched brick pipe, or wood. Near the end point, the network of pipes through which the water is delivered is often referred to as the water mains.

The energy that the system needs to deliver the water is called pressure. That energy is transferred to the water, therefore becoming water pressure, in a number of ways: by a pump, by gravity feed from a water source (such as a water tower) at a higher elevation, or by compressed air.[1]

The water is often transferred from a water reserve such as a large communal reservoir before being transported to a more pressurised reserve such as a watertower.

In small domestic systems, the water may be pressurised by a pressure vessel or even by an underground cistern (the latter however does need additional pressurizing). This eliminates the need of a water-tower or any other heightened water reserve to supply the water pressure.

These systems are usually owned and maintained by local governments, such as cities, or other public entities, but are occasionally operated by a commercial enterprise (see water privatization). Water supply networks are part of the master planning of communities, counties, and municipalities. Their planning and design requires the expertise of city planners and civil engineers, who must
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consider many factors, such as location, current demand, future growth, leakage, pressure, pipe size, pressure loss, fire fighting flows, etc. using pipe network analysis and other tools. Constructioncomparable sewage systems, was one of the great engineering advances that made urbanization possible. Improvement in the quality of the water has been one of the great advances in public health.

As water passes through the distribution system, the water quality can degrade by chemical reactions and biological processes. Corrosion of metal pipe materials in the distribution system can cause the release of metals into the water with undesirable aesthetic and health effects. Release of iron from unlined iron pipes can result in customer reports of "red water" at the tap . Release of copper from copper pipes can result in customer reports of "blue water" and/or a metallic taste. Release of lead can occur from the solder used to join copper pipe together or from brass fixtures. Copper and lead levels at the consumer's tap are regulated to protect consumer health.

Utilities will often adjust the chemistry of the water before distribution to minimize its corrosiveness. The simplest adjustment involves control of pH and alkalinity to produce a water that tends to passivate corrosion by depositing a layer of calcium carbonate. Corrosion inhibitors are often added to reduce release of metals into the water. Common corrosion inhibitors added to the water are phosphates and silicates.

Maintenance of a biologically safe drinking water is another goal in water distribution. Typically, a chlorine based disinfectant, such as sodium hypochlorite or monochloramine is added to the water as it leaves the treatment plant. Booster stations can be placed within the distribution system to ensure that all areas of the distribution system have adequate sustained levels of disinfection.

The problems normally faced in water supply distribution system are:

1. Un-accounted for water (Leakage and Wastage of water), 2. Degradation of quality of water, 3. Reduction in carrying capacity, and 4. Inadequate pressures at tail ends of the system

Un-Accounted For Water

Un-accounted for water (UFW) is the quantity of water, which is not actually billed for and water charges for the same are not realized from the consumers. The UFW water can be of two types: 1. Physical loss and 2. Nonphysical loss.

Physical loss

Physical loss is the water actually lost through leakage and wastage. Leakage is the water lost from storage reservoir, transmission main, service reservoirs, and distribution system and house service connections through leaks from cracks, holes or joints of pipe lines and due to corroded pipes, and fittings in house service connections. Wastage is the operational loss and the wasteful use and misuse of water by the consumers. Wastage of water can also occur due to discarding of stored water when fresh water supply comes in the case of intermittent water supply system. Operational loss is the water used in the system for cleaning of filter beds by back washing, sludge removal from clarifiers, periodic cleaning of the service reservoirs, periodic flushing of the deposits in the transmission mains and distribution pipes and water lost during attending bursts, leaks and other repair works.

Nonphysical loss
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Nonphysical loss is the quantity of water lost due to 1. the mechanical errors in meters at the source, at various points in the water supply system and at the consumers connections, which are recording lesser quantity of water than the actual quantity of flow. 2. Human errors in reading or recording the meter reading lesser than the actual quantity, and Flow through illegal connections, which are not accounted and billed for Nonphysical loss of water is considered as the loss of revenue.

Causes for Leakage The causes for the leakage in pipeline are due to the following aspects also.

1. The use of sub-standard pipes and fittings leads to imperfect jointing, causing leakage in joints.
2. Selection of pipe material with out considering the corrosives of the soil in

which the pipes are to be laid and the quality of water the pipe has to carry, which eventually may lead to corrosion of the pipes and fittings. 3. Lack of quality control in jointing of pipes while installation, which may result in leaks in joints when there is settlement of the supporting soil. 4. Non-conducting or improper conducting of hydraulic pressure testing of pipeline and joints at the time of installation. 5. Soil movement particularly when the pipes are laid in swelling soils like clay, due to change of moisture content, which may cause disturbance to the pipes and joints ultimately resulting in leakage. 6. Water hammer pressure disturbs the joints resulting in leakage. 7. Not detecting and rectifying the badly leaking joints regularly. Even in a properly maintained system, at any time 10% of the joints will be seeping joints (with the loss of water of 1 to 3 Lph / joint) and 1% of the total joints will be badly leaking joints (with the loss of water of 90 to 200 Lph / joint).

CONCLUSION

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India requires proper design and effective execution of suitable strategic options. The National Water Policy 2002 encourages private sector participation in planning, development and management of water resources project for diverse uses, which might help in generating financial resources and introducing corporate management and improving service efficiency and accountability to users. The policy also recommends some incentives to promote public private partnership. Also, competition in provision of public services could improve efficiency in provision of irrigation and water supply services. There is increased realization for a paradigm shift from water resources development to water resources management by restructuring and strengthening existing institutions for better service delivery and resource sustainability. Currently, integrated water resources management approach has also gained considerable importance. In tune with the National Water Policy-2002 focus to provide safe and adequate drinking water to all, India needs to refine its models of service provision. Stress should be laid on rainwater harvesting and conservation, followed by technological options for treatment, and institutional options for improved local management.

Set up and Strengthen Water Regulatory Authorities at State Level: Currently, Maharashtra and Uttara Pradesh (and proposed in Andhra Pradesh) have water regulatory authorities. The lessons from these authorities need to be learnt and replicated in other states, including successful experiment of the water auditing system implemented in Maharashtra. These authorities need to be oriented to focus on: a) effective water allocation and entitlement mechanisms at each river basin level to take care of both lean and flush season supplies across competing water uses; b) Evolve locally suitable approaches to promote effective irrigation management transfer at various levels; c) design models to promote public-private partnerships at subbasin levels for effective operation and maintenance activities, and also to provide adequate infrastructure facilities to boost up both backward and

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forward linkages to all farmers; and d) introduce and refine methods for performance measurement at all levels of the irrigation project.

Provide Water for All: The National Water Policy 2002, has assigned the highest priority to drinking water. However, it is important to note that despite five decades of planning and over a decade of Drinking Water Missions there are large numbers of no source villages, i.e., those with no identified source of safe drinking water. Interestingly, although the targets for covering such no source villages are repeatedly achieved, their numbers grow, which in turn mean that some covered villages are lapsing back into the uncovered category, and that newer villages are being added to this class. India needs to revamp its model of drinking water provision. The country needs to tap assured sources and link them within the river basin, if required. This would enable within a river basin, guaranteed domestic supplies both in terms of quantity and quality. For this, investments have to be focused on creating effective infrastructure and mechanisms to operate them efficiently. If required, supply links need to be provided across the basins. Since, provision of drinking water is prime concern, both states and central governments and all stakeholders would support such venture. All this would enable to provision of adequate safe drinking water for all in the country.

Support Groundwater Governance: The issue of regulation is important in groundwater management. Introducing a groundwater management system that ensures balance between abstractions and recharge is a rather difficult. Also, command and control type of approaches to prohibit more abstractions simply do not work. Groundwater management essentially requires a legal framework which constrains the rights of people to pump as much water as they wish from their land; the separation of land rights and water entitlements, with the latter usually based on historical use; strong government presence to give legal backing for the development of participatory aquifer management associations and to provide the decision-support systems which enable aquifer associations to monitor their resource; and, above all, clarity that the primary responsibility for
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the maintenance of the resource on which they depend is with those who have entitlements to use water from a particular aquifer.

From Water resources development to Water resources management: India need to shift its focus from water resources development to water resources management by restructuring and strengthening existing institutions for better service delivery and resource sustainability. Planning for big water resources projects should be interdisciplinary with all environmental, ecological and human concerns internalized and thereby assessing the impacts by a concrete statute. At the national level, a number of national commissions have been constituted by the central government to review specific water policy issues as well as plan for a long-term development of the water sector15. For the first time, across states, Andhra Pradesh has separated its water resources department into two departments in the year 2007: One, irrigation projects design and construction; second, project operation and maintenance. Maharashtra became the first state to form the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA), through an Act in the year 2005, This Authority has powers to fix the rates for use of water for agriculture, industrial, drinking and other purposes and several related matters. It has three members, including a Chair, a Member Water Resource Engineering and a Member Water Resource Economy. It also has five invitees, one from each of the five major river basins in Maharashtra. As suggested by its name, the primary function of the Authority is to regulate the water sector in the state. The Authority has a wide range of powers for doing this. Encouraged by this, other states like Uttara Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh are also planning to set up similar authorities.

REFERENCES
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Ashbolt NJ, Grabow WOK, Snozzi M (2001). Indicators of microbial water quality. In: Fewtrell L, Bartram J, eds. Water quality: guidelines, standards and health: risk assessment and management for water related infectious diseases. IWA Publishing, London, UK.

AWWA (2001). Rehabilitation of water mains, 2nd ed. American Water Works Association, USA. AWWARF (2001). Pathogen intrusion into the distribution system. American Water Works Association Research Foundation, Denver, USA.

Chambers, Robert (1998), Managing Canal Irrigation, New Delhi

WHO and UNICEP (2006), Meeting the MDG drinking water and sanitation target :the urban and rural challenge of the decade, Switzerland..

Saleth, R. Maria. 2004. Strategic analysis of water institutions in India: Application of a new research paradigm. Research Report 79. Colombo, Sri Lanka: International Water Management Institute.

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