Session-VI-Key Note Paper-Water Quality Management in Changing Environment

Abstract

As we know water is the most essential natural resource for our life, economic growth and agriculture. In the recent past, it is becoming a critical scarce resource in many parts of the country. Fortunately, India is wettest country in the world with its annual average rainfall 1170 mm. However, the rainfall is highly erratic and variable spatially and temporarily, seriously affecting the water availability in different parts of the country. With population growth, fast urbanization, industrialization and advancement in agricultural activities, the demand of water has increased steeply, leading to over-exploitation of our water resources. Agriculture is predominant use of water and account for about 85% of water use. This has resulted in depleting the water table in many part of our country to a large extent and leading to shrinking or drying of many water bodies. This has led to a large number of water quality and environmental issues. Nearly 80% of water pollution is attributed to discharge of untreated domestic wastewater generated from the fast growing large urban centres. As per the estimates of Central Pollution Control Board, the Class-I cities (Population >1 lakh) and Class-II towns (population 50,000 — 1,00,000) in India generate about 38,000 million liter of wastewater every day, which is continuously increasing due to fast urbanization and treatment capacity exists for only about 7000 million liter of wastewater. In past 25 years, Govt of India has tried to assist the urban local bodies (ULBs), who are responsible for waste management, to create wastewater treatment facilities under Ganga Action Plan, Yamuna Action Plan and National River Action Plan and able to create treatment capacity of about 4000 million liter/day. However, these facilities are neither adequate nor effective to restore our rivers in terms of water quality. A massive effort is needed to manage our water resources judiciously through an integrated water resource management at basin level, proper allocation for different uses and regulation at Panchayat level, conservation of the surface runoff by different techniques for use in fair weather.