A solution to the country's water problems lies in emulating the model that helped that city-state beat the odds of water shortage and become self-reliant. For that to happen, concrete efforts have to be taken

The spectre of water shortage looming large over India is not new. In fact, this crisis has become a stark reality, especially during gruelling summer months. As the municipal water system struggles to keep pace with the ever-growing urban demand, the beleaguered ground water table in rural areas is increasingly unable to cater to an average farmer’s irrigation needs. In the cities, water riots and buying up tankers are fairly common occurrences.

This has had a telling impact on agricultural productivity and consequently, food security. Further, the water availability scenario in rural areas has assumed grim proportions due to a fall in levels in the traditional hand-dug wells such as baolis.

As India prepares for yet another summer, it is not surprising that many citizens have already made preparations to face the attendant hardships. Thanks to climate change, rains have been playing truant and have shown irregular patterns for a long while now. This scenario is resulting in a cumulative impact on the availability of water across major Indian cities that are reeling under the impact of scarce natural resources besides having to deal with an immense load of migratory population. These conditions have made living in some Indian cities such as Bengaluru almost unbearable.

Where has India gone wrong? Clearly, climate change has become a reality for nations across the world but some countries are handling its consequences much better than India. There are some aspects that are unique to India such as a huge population problem, which weakens our fight against climate change. Since population and other associated issues cannot be wished away, India must find ways to overcome the challenges posed by scarce natural resources and manage them for consumption. How we achieve this basically depends on how well we observe the goings on in other countries around the world.

Singapore is an apt example of how a nation can beat the odds of water crisis to become self-reliant. It emerged from being a water-scarce developing nation to a world leader in water management practices in just a few decades. Since its independence in 1965, one of the main concerns for the Government was to provide clean water to growing domestic and non-domestic sectors. In 1965, Singapore was dependent on Johor, a state in southern Malaysia, for water resources under two agreements: One signed in 1961 and the other in 1962.

In view of this dependence, long-term security of water became an essential consideration for the city-state. As a result, it developed and executed plans to enhance water security and self-sufficiency. Innovations covered aspects of policy, planning, management, institutional development, finances, technology and most recently, societal behaviour. The main reason for Singapore’s success in managing its water resources was a parallel emphasis on supply and demand management, including conventional and non-conventional sources of water — reused water and desalinated water.

Singapore’s entire water cycle is managed by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) that collects, treats and reuses water on an extensive scale — a step that very few countries have taken. The supply of water has further been expanded by reducing water that’s unaccounted for, which is defined as actual water loss due to leaks, plus apparent water losses arising from meter inaccuracies. Also, Singapore does not have illegal connections and all water connections are metered. The unaccounted for water has decreased from about 9.5 per cent in 1990 to about five per cent in recent years, one of the lowest rates in the world.

Water conservation is encouraged in the domestic sector and mandated in the non-domestic sector, too. These include efficiency measures, both engineering solutions and human behaviour, such as appliances within PUB’s efficiency ratings. The ability of the nation to achieve these feats can be attributed to Government support, long-term planning and realisation that clean and reliable water resources are essential for overall socio-development.

Following the policy paradigm of ‘think ahead, think again and think across’, Singapore has looked for every opportunity to collect, treat, reuse and produce the necessary water resources not only at present but in a horizon that spans several decades. The city-state’s water resources planning, governance and practices hold lessons for every other developed and developing city and country.

Indian conditions are apt for emulating the Singapore model. For a successful simulation, concentrated efforts have to be made to ensure that free water sops for the sake of political mileage are discontinued forthwith.

India must also consider the pollution of its remaining fresh water bodies and rivers from urban and industrial pollution. Unless this is done, we are in the process of worsening an already difficult position. Stress has to be laid on ensuring that water wastage is contained during supply. Additionally it is also crucial that the wastewater treatment facilities are not only ramped up with growing requirements but the STPs are also adequately functioning. India has ample resources if only they are managed well. The responsibility to effectively and optimally utilise these resources lies with each one of us under the guidance of the Government. If this translates into reality, water scarcity will be a thing of the past for India.

(The writer is an environmental journalist)