Making cities water rich with a better quality of life for all

S. Vishwanath

THE fundamental premise to start from is that water is a human right and all city dwellers have a right to water for health, hygiene and a decent life based on their needs and irrespective of their capacity to pay. It is also true that beyond the human right to it, water becomes an economic good and therefore should have a price so as to ensure it is conserved and used properly. When people pay for water a water utility or the local urban body remains fiscally afloat and can invest in maintaining the system as well as extending networks in a growing city.

Thinking around water includes the collection, conveyance and treatment of used water in such a fashion so as to not pollute the environment and present health risks. The true ecological cost of water is captured when we return it to nature in the same quantity and quality that we appropriated it in. There are crucial factors to keep in mind.

 

Manage sources well, price and use water efficiently

These sources are available for our cities: rainwater, groundwater, local surface water in ponds, lakes and rivers, piped water from distant sources, treated used water and in coastal cities desalinated seawater. We have to manage these sources in an integrated fashion on the supply side.

On the demand side we will have to plug leaks in the system, use water efficient devices such as aerators, flushes, taps and showers which save water and, above all, price water volumetrically and charge according to the full ecological cost of it, that is, to enable returning of the water to nature in the same quantity and quality at which it was appropriated. Luckily, most urban use is non-consumptive which means that the water does not evaporate or evapotranspire and can be reused if properly treated.

 

Strengthening institutions with  better expertise

In the past, specialized institutions have been created in some of our major metropolises for water supply — such as the Delhi Jal Board, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, etc. These are institutions of the 20th century and, within constraints, have done a commendable job. These institutions now need to be well-rounded, for example, by staffing with hydro-geologists to understand, plan and manage groundwater better.

We need hydrologists to tackle floods better. Community or social development specialists would help understand the needs of the informal, low-income settlements and migrant workers to be able to provide outreach and water for these groups. Used water treatment specialists would help put in place a system to recycle wastewater for productive purposes — environmental, agricultural or urban-industrial. At a river-basin scale we need institutions to track catchment level changes, monitor and rectify them to ensure the clean flow of water in our rivers.

 

Sustainability depends on a robust legal framework

Much of the groundwater is under-regulated. We need to develop a robust legal framework for its sustainable management. The protection of waterbodies, wetlands, streams and rivers, and the channels connecting lakes is still not robust enough to prevent encroachment, conversion into real estate or dumping of waste. Pollution laws are followed more in the breach. It has taken sustained efforts by our courts and the legal system to push for the protection of the environment. We need more robust laws and, particularly, more effective implementation of existing laws in a sustained fashion to protect water in its various forms in the city. Wastewater treatment standards are stringent but follow one standard for all STPs. We need to develop fit-for-purpose wastewater treatment standards depending on the intended reuse.

 

Ensure that water utilities are not in the red

Most of our water utilities and local governments are not even able to recover the operations and maintenance cost of water supply and sewage facilities. Unless these institutions are fiscally stable, investment in maintenance, leaks and repairs, extension of networks in the periphery and replacement of leaking pipes will simply not happen. Unless these utilities and service providers operate in the black and not in the red, we cannot expect universal coverage of water supply and sewerage to the populace and the prevention of pollution of waterbodies. Strengthening their fiscal capabilities is an urgent need.

 

Master plans for cities should

include water needs as well

Master plans are the only legal tool available for formal city-level development. We need to develop land use plans and master plans sensitive to the issue of water. Protecting wetlands, mangroves, lakes, ponds, interconnecting channels, rivers, streams, floodplains, seafronts from encroachment and pollution must be priority. Development must not be allowed in flood-prone areas or on wetlands and lakes.

Building by-laws need to encourage rainwater harvesting, wastewater recycling through setting up of decentralized STPs, dual plumbing lines for different qualities of water, grey water recycling and water meters for individual flats and buildings.

The AMRUT 2.0 guidelines have started a push in the right direction for the 500 cities and towns which are eligible for funding. They need to be taken further in AMRUT 3.0 so as to make our cities vibrant and livable with regard to water.

 

S. Vishwanath is a  civil engineer and urban planner by profession and an insightful water expert