Delhi / Kolkata – Reforms in water policy and pricing, sustainability in industrial water use, improvement in performance of utilities, and mobilization of the private sector, have the potential to address water-related challenges, highlight Ernst & Young’s report titled ‘Riding the Wave’. The same was released by Mr. Suresh Prabhu, Global Ambassador of Global Water Partnership at ASAPP Media’s H2O Conference held in Mumbai on May 23.
Key Highlights
- Some major cities, including the country capital Delhi, show a poor ‘working ratio’ – an indicator that assesses the performance of water utilities in terms of operational efficiencies, financial health and stability. However, cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru have healthier ‘working ratios’ indicating better performance of water utilities.
- More than 60% of the households in major Indian cities are water-deficient.
- Industrial water consumption is to increase four-fold by 2050.
- Distribution losses due to leakage in water supply are as high as 35-50%.
- Arresting distribution leakage losses by an average of 10% across India will reduce the production cost of equivalent water supply by INR 5.5 billion.
- New projects based on 24×7 water-supply offer opportunities to improve operational efficiencies in water supply. For example, Jamshedpur Utilities & Services Company India Limited (JUSCO) was able to bring down its non-revenue water losses from 31% to 8% within a year of implementing a 24×7 pilot program in Jamshedpur in 2008.
India’s total demand for water is expected to cross 1400 billion cubic meters (bcm) by 2050, with a 50% increase in the need for irrigation water, a 100% increase for drinking water, and a 400% rise for water for industrial use, as indicated by the Sub-Committee of the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR). At this point of time, demand has already outstripped supply and India’s continued growth is not sustainable without the implementation of effective measures to cut down on usage of water and augment its supply.
India’s growing population, coupled with service inefficiencies on the supply side, has resulted in a steady decline in per capita availability of water in the country, which is currently estimated to be in the water-stressed range. It is projected that this will drop by more than 50% to water scarcity by 2050. Additionally, the quality of water in many parts of the country indicates high level of organic and bacterial contamination in surface water and of pollutants such as fluoride, nitrate and arsenic in ground water. The above factors spell the urgent need of an effective water management system that will not just solve our current water problems but also have a solution for the fulfillment of future demand.
Says Chaitanya Kalia, Partner – Advisory Services (Climate Change & Sustainability), Ernst & Young Pvt. Ltd., “One of the factors responsible for water scarcity in major Indian cities is the absence of sewage treatment capacities, which are as low as 30% of the total waste-water generated. This significantly increases the quantity of non-utilizable water. To effectively address water scarcity issues in India, stakeholders need to shift to and drive new paradigms of sustainable water resource management.”
He further added that, “The Central Water Commission of the Government of India indicates that the total annual utilizable water available in India is 1,123 bcm. There is clearly a need for supply-demand balance across economic corridors. While there have been policy-level interventions, e.g., India’s National Water Policy and National Water Mission, to address such issues, the concerted effort of all stakeholders is imperative for effective implementation and achievement of the goals stated in these policies.”
Critical Findings and Recommendations
Water Management Strategy: The development of an effective water management strategy requires an understanding of the challenges faced by the sector today. This includes geographically inequitable water distribution, practices driving consumption patterns and affecting its future availability, as well as the existing institutional mechanisms that govern water supply, pricing and allocation.
With India facing increasing water scarcity issues and challenges today, there is a need to adopt water management approaches that are specific to the regional context and inclusive of all stakeholders, i.e., approaches that are based on the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM).
Reforms in Water Policy and Pricing: The National Water Policy of India recognizes the need to treat water as an economic necessity. This calls for bringing about reforms in water pricing with the aim to maximize the efficiency of water usage. Such reforms require a shift towards market-based instruments such as water trading, recycled water certificates, and designing of effective water tariffs.
Sustainable Water Management: Taking positive steps toward sustainable water management and stewardship is the need of the hour for the Indian industry. It is essential for businesses, since it leads them to identify their water-related risks, and is also critical for the well-being of the local communities and ecosystems. Industries can achieve sustainability in their water usage through a combination of several approaches such as:
Water Demand Assessment – It looks at the current and future water needs of a business with respect to the capacity of current and future resources to meet these needs.
Supply Management – This approach looks at water as a shared resource between the domestic, agricultural and industrial sectors, and recognizes priority in availability of water for the local community as a basic human right.
Efficiency Enhancement – An efficiency enhancement strategy can be formulated by undertaking exercises such as “identify, benchmark and monitor”. Such exercises can help companies to identify water-efficiency measures on the lines of principles such as reduce, re-use, recycle and innovate. They establish performance benchmarks for identified efficiency measures and increase the accountability of water management systems through continuous monitoring.
