International World Water Day was celebrated on March 22
This year’s theme was “wastewater”, which is defined as any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influences and as a result of domestic, industrial, commercial and agricultural activities.
What is the global issue?
Population growth, accelerated urbanisation and economic development have resulted in an increase in the quantity of wastewater.
Most of our freshwater sources are under threat.
Industrial water consumption accounts for 22% of the global water used, when public awareness of pollution is limited the cost of pollution to our health and the ecosystem is huge.
The victims are generally the poor or socially vulnerable communities, and the end result is a high financial burden on the community and government.
What is the problem in India?
By 2030, the global demand for water is expected to grow by 50%. Most of this demand will be in cities.
In low-income areas of cities/towns within developing countries, a large proportion of wastewater is discharged directly into the surface water drain, without or with limited treatment.
Traditional wastewater treatment plants may not remove certain pollutants.
In India, about 29,000 million l/day of waste water is generated from class-I cities and class-II towns, out of which about 45% is generated from metro cities alone.
A collection system exists for only about 30% of the wastewater through sewer lines, while treatment capacity exists for about 7,000 ml/d.
The industrial sector in India discharges around 30,730 million cubic metres of effluents, without proper treatment, into water bodies.
Run-off from agriculture fields is another major source of pollution.
India, extracts water significantly for various developmental purposes.
Hence, the water flow or storage capacity of water bodies has declined substantially, adversely affecting their waste assimilation/sink functions.
What are the water Management strategies?
Integrated Nature conservation policies between Union and states and Water pollution should be made a punishable offence.
The effectiveness and power of the “polluter pay principle” should be considered.
Strategies to protect water resources should be Public-Private Partnership and Capacity building at local levels.
Market-based strategies such as environmental taxes, pollution levies should be implemented.
Incentive mechanisms such as subsidies, soft loans, tax relaxation should be included in installing pollution management devices.
In industries cleaner production-technology must be encouraged.
The application of eco-friendly inputs such as bio fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture and the use of natural dyes in textile industries can reduce the pollution load considerably.
Way forward:
Past experience shows that significant progress has not been achieved despite legislative and policy measures being introduced with huge budgets to solve water pollution issues.
Water pollution is not a major topic of political debate as yet.
Unfortunately, most common effluent treatment plants are not performing satisfactorily due to improper operations and maintenance.
There is sufficient evidence to suggest that the problem, though complex, is solvable. While it is not realistic to aim for zero water pollution, a level of socially acceptable pollution, respecting the integrity of ecosystems and service provision, can be reached.
The benefits to our health, and in terms of economic development and environmental sustainability, business opportunities and ‘green’ jobs far compensate the costs of wastewater management.
