Water is the only thing that distinguishes Earth from other planets as water makes life possible. Though galaxies and solar systems have been searched, water is yet to be found making life impossible anywhere else. Water is essential to all life but once considered infinite, water is proving to be a finite natural source.

Drought has become a part of rural life and water scarcity a part of urban life. The problem is so severe that even Cherapunji, which receives the maximum amount of rainfall in the world, is facing a water crisis!

How did we get to this state?
There appear to be three main reasons.

Commodificaton:
Water has become a commodity that can be bought and sold. Clean water is a basic right and people shouldn’t be charged for it. If water is used simply to support life, then they must receive it free of charge. Others must pay – industries, power plants, and water bottling plants, for example, as they’re using water for commercial gains. Like electricity meters, we need to get water meters in place universally and those who exceed usage limits should be charged.

Pollution:
Industries discharge effluents into rivers from where we use water for drinking and sanitation needs. Harmful chemicals are present in the water we drink. In many countries, including India, it has been discovered that mercury and arsenic are present at unacceptable levels in the groundwater, slowly poisoning and causing health problems for the people.

Exploitation:
Bottled water plants should only be allowed to process and convert sea water into drinking water and not use freshwater sources. Remember the Cola scandal when the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India discovered pesticides at unacceptable levels in soft drinks? It is important to remember the major ingredient of these soft drinks is groundwater. Soft drink bottling plants are located in village outskirts, where they buy farmland from villagers at cheap rates. As these lands were former farmlands, the amount of pesticide in the water drying up.

Environmental summits where activists throw water balloons, and drought deaths draw our attention temporarily but we forget it only to be reminded on World Water Day on March 22, what a scarce and contested resource water has become Water wars aren’t far behind as we witness these already in several Indian states – Karnataka vs. Tamilnadu, TN vs. Kerala. They have begun to cause tensions between neighbouring countries as well-- India vs. Bangladesh, Nepal vs. China, Chinese occupation of Tibet, the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan, India and China to name a few. Whosoever controls the water sources in these regions, controls countries, it is well accepted.

How safe is our water?
The simple answer is we don’t know for we don’t ask questions and don’t demand certification from the food and drug administration authorities of our State or from the Centre.Most of us are unaware of the Indian Consumer Rights Act of 1986, which allows us to both demand answers and legal compensation if malpractice is detected.

Nowadays, all households boil and filter water because groundwater is high in salt or silt content. Also, the more wastewater we generate, the greater the danger of water pollution and contamination of available freshwater resources, which in turn leads to increasing health problems and rising health costs as we don’t get safe water. Water processing is a costly commercial activity. This is where water management comes in.

Rain water harvesting at the community and home levels, checking real estate expansion in the name of development so that water sources and food chains aren’t destroyed, dual piping systems – one pipeline for drinking water and another for sanitation are few things that need to be done.

The four main benefits of better water management are lower national health costs as occurrence of disease and mortality is considerably reduced, increased national growth as healthy people work better, increases the tourism potential and lower costs to maintain infrastructure.

Without water security, it is impossible to ensure food and energy security, both of which are essential for development and poverty alleviation in a developing country like India. Simply put, a good harvest means a good year for all Indians. Food prices soar when government ignores water security. So, water security is essential and water crisis needs to be avoided at all costs.

It is important to remember that our only home, Earth has sustained life for billions of years. However, in the last ten years, man has turned vast tracts into urban cement deserts, using up huge amounts of water in the process. If we go on in the same manner, unmindful of saving our waters, the very survival of mankind may be at stake in the coming decade

By Deepa Kandaswamy