Mission to save water

Mr. Rishi Agarwal has taken an uphill task to save 30 top cities of India and 50 top cities of the world through his various campaign and has approached respective State Govt to make water free of cost available for its citizen.

Water Problems In Various Cities

1.Jaipur

   Jaipur, which is also called as the pink city India, is quite populated in India and through the report from the WWF Jaipur ranks on the 45th rank around the world to face shortage of water by 2050. One of the many reasons why Jaipur also faces such problem is its geographical location, since it is situated in Rajasthan where rainfall is usually low.

Some of the other reason why Jaipur might face this problem is:

Rapid population growth: due to increase in population the 150 streams of water with 113 of 1st order, 37 of 2nd order and 10 of third order are blocked or have been filled for construction purposes. construction often involves flattening of the land disrupting the natural topography.

Degradation in water quality: Industrial processes in and around the city have greatly and negatively affected the quality of surface waters in Jaipur. Amanishah Nala has become unsightly and foul smelling due to the discharge of industrial wastewater to its storm water drainage network. Decreased water quality causes increased health risks and increased spending on health care. These conditions also allow for an increased risk of pollution of shallow aquifers.

Urban impact on groundwater: Jaipur’s groundwater supply has diminished to a critical limit, with more than 500% overexploitation in some areas & severe degradation in quality. Lack of regulation of tube wells has also compounded the problem. - With an estimated 20,000 private tube wells within the city, compared to approximately 2,000 Public Health Engineering Department controlled tube wells, the regulation and monitoring of groundwater extraction are nearly unachievable.

Depletion with increasing population, increasing dependence on groundwater Loss of forest lands, agricultural fields, pasturelands, & open wasteland due to urbanization, building of roads, houses, and commercial complexes has reduced recharge areas around Jaipur. - Degradation The overexploitation of groundwater concentrates the inherent salts, fluorides, chlorides, and other chemicals already found in the water. The seepage of sewage water into surface water sources has further degraded the water.

2.Ludhiana

Though Punjab’s water crisis has been in the making for the past over three decades, no serious efforts have been made to address it. It is very unfortunate that a state like Punjab, which is known for its rivers, is facing shortage of water. Punjab was once comfortably placed in terms of water availability, but over the years, the situation deteriorated.

Overexploitation of groundwater: In 1984, Punjab had 2.44 million acre ft (MAF) of groundwater, which dwindled to minus 11.63 MAF in 2013. In 1984, there were five districts doing overdraft of groundwater; in 2013, there were 15. The range of overdraft was between 1.34 (Ludhiana) and 1.91 (Kapurthala) times in 1984, while it was 1.21 times (Gurdaspur) to 2.11 (Sangrur) times in 2013. The average total draft in Punjab was 149 in 2013. The overexploitation of groundwater led to fast depletion of the water table, due to which the average depth of tubewells increased from 49 ft during 1960-70 to 128 ft in 2013-14 in nearly 15 districts of (predominantly paddy zone). Of them, the pre-monsoon depth of the water table went down by 7 metres to 22 metres in 10 districts during 1996-2016.

Rice production: Paddy is the main consumer of groundwater in Punjab. Water productivity of rice (quantity of water required to produce 1-kg rice) in the state in the triennium (TE) ending 2013-14 was 5,337 litres, whereas the all-India average was 3,875 litres. This is also due to applying higher number of irrigations than the recommended doses.

3.Mettur

Mettur is an industrial and tourism town located in the Salem district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is best known for the Mettur Dam and it is the largest dam in south Indian. Most of the water requirements for irrigation in Tamil Nadu is provided by the Mettur Dam. Usually the dam opens in June every year for irrigation in the Kaveri Delta.

4.Delhi

Delhi as we all know is the capital of India. Some of the reasons why the city has been facing problems with the water supply is:

Illegal constructions near reservoirs, over extraction of groundwater, pollution in water bodies and wastage of residential water supply are some of reasons Delhi is running dry.

Delhi has one of the highest percentages of households with piped water among all of India’s states and union territories.

the city's ongoing water supply problem may snowball into a big crisis. Senior officials warn if the twin troubles - low supply from the Yamuna and the progressive reduction in water from the Upper Ganga canal - persist, the city will face larger water supply cuts as we move towards Dussehra.

More than a quarter of Delhi's water supply comes from the canal which feeds both the Bhagirathi and Sonia Virar treatment plants. Instead of 265MGD (million gallon per day), the canal is supplying only 100MGD due to annual maintenance work. The water we are receiving will stop in three to four days.

Repair work at Ganga canal, low river flows a double blow: the government/ officials are not able to lift more water from the Yamuna because the water supply in the river is already very low compared to seasonal supply requirements.

5.Bangalore

Bangalore has gone from being the city of lakes to the city of concrete. Bengaluru is paying a heavy price for its success since marketing itself as a tech hub in the late 1990s and attracting top firms including Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Google.

• Officials admit that city authorities, unprepared for the speed of the city's tech boom, did not adequately plan for Bengaluru's growing water needs. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is the main agency that manages drinking water - but it can provide it to only about 60% of the city.

• One of the major reasons why Bangalore if running low on water is due to the Kaveri river dispute. Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been in a very long dispute over the sharing of the river where in the end it was decide that Tamil Nadu will be receiving most of the advantage from the River.

• The lakes prevailing in the city have started drying up. Major changes can be seen in the southern side where big lakes around the banner Hatta area have witnessed large lakes drying up.

• Another big reason why Bangalore is running low on water supply is failing groundwater levels. The city is not able to maintain constant water levels; it is just witnessing gradual decrease.

6.Amritsar

Some of the tube wells are lying defunct while many other newly installed ones are not operational. Residents cite defunct tube wells as the reason behind low water pressure.

The walled city area of the holy city has witnessed more than 100 feet water depletion in the last five years. Out of 133 tube wells, 25 are non-functional. Besides, several tube wells are unable to pump out adequate water due to depleting water table.

The MC is not able to install borewells as truck-mounted borewell rig can’t make it to narrow streets. Most of the tub wells are 200 to 350 feet deep, which have turned defunct due to water crisis. MC officials say they need at least 550 feet borewell for good water pressure.

The MC had installed shallow borewells at the corners of many streets to meet the demand of residents, but residents got contaminated water as the upper stratum of water is polluted.

Experts claim that groundwater is not a solution to the problem as the upper strata of water is contaminated in the city. Despite announcements of a canal-based water scheme by the government, the project is still hanging fire.

7.Chennai

The scarcity of water has seen the city’s main reservoirs run dry. Borewells are depleted and the groundwater levels have fallen sharply. Tankers have become the primary source of water for the population. The dire state has been attributed to the failure of the northeast monsoon on which the city is heavily reliant.

• Almost 2400 acres of water bodies disappeared by 2016: For a city that does not have a perennial water source, Chennai has lost water bodies large and small that add up to ten times the size of the Velachery Lake over the last four decades. The rampant and unchecked urbanisation has led to shrinking lakes and wetlands over time. The most damning indictment of such neglect came in the form of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report tabled in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in the aftermath of the floods. The report highlighted the role of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in giving permissions for construction without adhering to land use planning regulations. This has resulted in the area under water bodies shrinking by 2389 acres between 1979 and 2016.

8.Indore

The scarcity of water has seen the city’s main reservoirs run dry. Borewells are depleted and the groundwater levels have fallen sharply. Tankers have become the primary source of water for the population. The dire state has been attributed to the failure of the northeast monsoon on which the city is heavily reliant.

The city, with a population of around 18 lakhs, has three main traditional water sources - the Yeshwant Sagar lake, constructed across the Gambhir river, the Bilawali Tank and the water supplied through the Narmada Project. In certain areas it is also supplied through power pumps, hand pumps and wells. However, the city and its neighbouring areas are heavily dependent on water supplied from Narmada river through a 70 km long pipeline, stored in 31 overhead and underground tanks dotted all over the city, and then distributed. Under normal circumstances, the Yeshwant Sagar supplies 18 million litres of water a day. However, during summer months while the Narmada continues to supply 140 MLD(minimal liquid discharge) , the supply from Yeshwant Sagar drops to 7 MLD, there is no supply from Bilawali Tank as it dries up by March and water from power wells, tube wells and wells comes down to 10 MLD , making the total supply at 157 MLD. This gives an average availability of 95 litres of water per person per day. Whereas, the Public Health Engineering Manual on water supply of the Government of India, says that in a city the size of Indore, every person should be supplied average of 135 litres of water per day.

• Technical issue: All pumps at third-phase supply system of Narmada at Jalood were down reducing pumping of 360MLD.

9.Ahmedabad

With rising mercury levels and severe heatwave, Gujarat is facing a massive water crisis. The scarcity is particularly acute in the Saurashtra region, Kutch, North Gujarat and parts of tribal pockets in central and South Gujarat.

• The available water in all the dams of these regions is negligible. e. However, thanks to the Sardar Sarovar dam and the Narmada canal network, people will not face any difficulty till July-end. Water is available in the dam. The only challenge is to supply it to far-flung areas, some 500 km away from the dam

• Supply on alternate days: In Rajkot, water is supplied only for 20 minutes a day and in many localities and societies located on the outskirts, supply is on alternate days or through tankers. Even in Jasdan, the Assembly constituency of Kuvarji Bavalia, the Water Supply Minister, shortage of drinking water forced villagers to hold protests demanding its regular supply.

10.São Paulo

In 2014, São Paulo nearly ran out of water. Schools closed, crops faltered and reservoirs were left at a tiny 5 percent of their capacity for the city and its surrounding population of 22 million. It was the worst drought in eight decades.

The dry season of 2018 raised fears of another water crisis. And in coming years, warming temperatures will heighten Brazil's water extremes, making both water scarcity and intense rainfall more common.

Managing alternating droughts and floods alongside threats to water quality will be a challenge—one that the city's existing infrastructure isn't equipped to handle. São Paulo already loses over 20 percent of its treated water due to leaking pipes before it reaches the taps of its residents.

A surprising and often overlooked solution can play a significant role in addressing these complicated threats. The forests surrounding São Paulo's main drinking water system filter water and help buffer against the impacts of droughts and floods—but over three-quarters of these forests have been degraded and destroyed. This means that the water utility brings in dirtier water, driving up treatment costs and diverting resources from other needs, such as fixing leaks.

Our new report, Natural Infrastructure in São Paulo's Water System, finds that restoring 4,000 hectares (nearly 10,000 acres) of these forests could reduce sediment pollution by 36 percent within 30 years, reducing turbidity by almost half and potentially boosting water supply when it's most scarce. (Turbidity measures sediment pollution suspended in the water that must be removed to be safe for drinking). All it takes is planting trees in the right places.

11.Beijing

Beijing’s 21 million residents are running out of water sources. Heavy reliance on groundwater is depleting aquifers and causing land subsidence. An ambitious South-to-North water diversion project likely won’t provide enough water for Beijing long-term. In addition, nearly 40 percent of Beijing’s surface water is too polluted for use.

According to World Bank metrics, a city is experiencing acute water scarcity if resources fall below 500 cubic meters per person per year. In 2014, Beijing averaged only 145 cubic meters of fresh water per person per year. Beijing hopes to cap its population at 23 million by 2020 due to the city’s severe water stress, but the scarcity is only expected to worsen as China grows.

“When I first arrived to Beijing 60 years ago, there were springs everywhere. Some bubbled up half a meter high. There were rice paddies. But now the population’s increased sevenfold, and there are seven ring roads around the city. That abundant supply of water is gone.” —Liu Changming, a retired hydrologist for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, in reference to the depletion of water sources in Beijing.

12.Cairo

Beijing’s 21 million residents are running out of water sources. Heavy reliance on groundwater is depleting aquifers and causing land subsidence. An ambitious South-to-North water diversion project likely won’t provide enough water for Beijing long-term. In addition, nearly 40 percent of Beijing’s surface water is too polluted for use.

According to World Bank metrics, a city is experiencing acute water scarcity if resources fall below 500 cubic meters per person per year. In 2014, Beijing averaged only 145 cubic meters of fresh water per person per year. Beijing hopes to cap its population at 23 million by 2020 due to the city’s severe water stress, but the scarcity is only expected to worsen as China grows.

“When I first arrived to Beijing 60 years ago, there were springs everywhere. Some bubbled up half a meter high. There were rice paddies. But now the population’s increased sevenfold, and there are seven ring roads around the city. That abundant supply of water is gone.” —Liu Changming, a retired hydrologist for the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, in reference to the depletion of water sources in Beijing.

13.Jakarta

Jakarta has recently seen rapid population growth, water shortages, flood risk, and land subsidence caused by groundwater overdraft. These problems are especially acute for Jakarta which lacks wastewater treatment plants and sewerage. BOD and TSS in most stations show a decreasing trend. Some stations in the downstream show significant increasing trends. DO in most stations shows an increasing trend. However, DO values in most stations are lower than 5 mg/l. Although water quality in Jakarta has generally improved in recent years, there is still a great deal of work to do. Sufficient WWTP capacity is necessary to deliver high quality effluent to rivers and streams. Wastewater treatment plants should consider population growth and urban development in the present and future. For rural areas, collecting wastewater and solid waste can be effective to stop river water pollution. Limiting groundwater overdraft can effectively stop land subsidence and mitigate flooding. Cooperation between government, industry and the public are necessary to address water quality and environmental challenges. Results from this study provide valuable information that resource managers can use to create sustainable water environments in Jakarta and beyond.

14.Moscow

Russia is rich in water, boasting 2 million lakes, 210,000 rivers, and a quarter of the earth’s freshwater reserves. Despite the country’s bountiful resources, access to clean water is an issue in many towns and cities. Rampant Soviet-era pollution dirtied Russia’s major waterways, and unchecked dumping of chemicals and wastewater continues today.

Water contamination is a concern in Moscow, the country’s capital and largest city. Fifty-six percent of water supply sources in Moscow, home to 12 million, do not meet safety standards. Studies have shown both surface and groundwater pollution in the city.

In 2013, Greenpeace Russia analysed contamination in Moscow’s key river, the Moskva. The organization collected samples from 10 discharge sites along 50 kilometres of riverbank. Every sample showed high levels of pollutants, including sulphur, oil, heavy metals, and aluminium.

“There are toxic substances that exceed Russia’s safety standards by many times,” Dmitry Artamonov, head of the Toxics campaign of Greenpeace Russia, told The BRICS Post. In one sample, mercury exceeded safety levels by 20 times; in another sample, manganese surpassed safety levels by 120 times. Currently, most of Moscow’s drinking water comes from upstream locations which are somewhat cleaner. Researchers warn that the contamination still poses health risks, however. The Moskva flows into the Volga River, which supplies water for agriculture. In many cases, the city’s polluted water is used to produce its food.

The pollution may also pose an increasing risk as the population of Moscow grows. Urbanization will overtake a larger portion of the Moskva River, and water demand will rise. Drawing more water from underground reserves, which are also contaminated, may not be an option.

15.Istanbul

In the past decade, a handful of dry years have tested Istanbul’s water reserves. From 2006 to 2008, Istanbul received the lowest amount of rainfall in 50 years, with reservoirs dipping to 25 percent capacity. In 2014, another drought occurred, with reservoirs dropping as low as 29 percent.

According to climate scientists, periods of drought may be the new norm for the megacity. A 2013 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) analysed the impacts of climate change on water systems in Turkey. The report predicts that temperatures will rise and rainfall will decrease in much of Turkey in the next century. The OECD warns that these climate disruptions could have major impacts on the quantity and quality of the country’s surface water.

Another 2013 study, published in the Turkish Journal of Water Science & Management, forecasts change in Istanbul’s Marmara region. In the “optimistic” scenario, temperatures in the region are expected to rise 2 to 3 °C by 2040, and another 3 to 4 °C by 2100. At the same time, autumn rainfall is forecast to drop by 20 percent. In the “pessimistic” scenario, climate fluctuations are even worse, ultimately leading to a 20 percent decrease in regional surface and groundwater.

In addition to the shifting climate, pollution threatens Istanbul’s water supply. Although the city has made impressive progress in wastewater management, some sewage still goes untreated. Several treatment plants are also outdated, including the Kadikoy plant, which can only remove waste molecules larger than 10 millimetres. As a result, many small but dangerous particles are still dumped into Istanbul’s waterways.

16.Mexico City

Unsustainable water management practices have put Mexico City at risk of running out of water. A large majority of the city’s water supply comes from an underground aquifer that is being drained at a rate faster than it can refill. The ground is covered with concrete, which means that when it rains, rather than seep through the soil and return to the aquifer, the rainwater runs off. This collects pesticides and pollutants, which contaminate other water sources like rivers and lakes. Due to the quickly depleting aquifer, Mexico City is sinking downwards an estimated 1 meter every year.

Within the centre of the Mexico City, the water scarcity issue has led to frequent water shut-offs. However, it is in the mountainous outskirts, that people are most vulnerable. In these areas, people are living off-grid and do not have access to water because there are no pipes from the city delivering water to people’s taps. Those that live in these regions rely on government supplied water trucks, known as las pipas, to bring them water. These trucks, however, are very unreliable, not coming for weeks at a time without notice. For this reason, many families in these regions are living off of 20 L of water per day per person.

17.London

In recent years, London has grappled with water shortages and sewage overflows as the city’s population steadily increases. Water demand is expected to exceed supply within the next decade, and severe water shortages could affect Britain’s capital by 2040.

London’s water stress is influenced by several factors. The metropolitan area receives roughly 600mm of rain each year, less than cites such as Istanbul, Turkey, and Sydney, Australia. The relatively low rainfall, coupled with the growing likelihood of hotter, drier summers, is putting pressure on the city’s water supply. At the same time, London’s population is expanding by 100,000 people each year.

London’s key water sources–the Thames and Lea rivers–are also facing pollution problems. Plastic and other debris infiltrate the waterways and clog the city’s sewer system. In addition, the rivers are sometimes deluged with wastewater when heavy rainfall overwhelms the sewage system’s treatment capacity. In order for London to avoid extreme water stress, advocates say, the city needs to cut consumption and make river preservation a priority.

“Pressure on our rivers and water supplies is only going to rise. We need to act now to ensure we have enough water for people and nature in years to come.” –Rose O’Neill, freshwater programme manager at WWF-UK, in reference to the need for careful water stewardship in London.

18.Tokyo

TOKYO, July 25—This city is experiencing its most critical water shortage in 40 years as it enters the hottest period of the summer and feverishly rushes final preparations for the Olympia Games two and a half months away.

Drastic cuts in the water supply already have had severe effects on hospitals, hotels, bathhouses, industrial plants and restaurants. Water service in 17 of Tokyo's 23 wards, already suspended between 11 P. M. and 5 A. M., was further halted this week between 11 A.M. and 4 P.M. The new curb affects about 260,000 households.

Municipal and national officials have announced that a special project to tap the Ara River, north of Tokyo, to augment the city's water supply in time for the Olympics will be completed by Aug. 25. However, Gov. Ryotaro Azuma has refused requests that ha ease water restrictions before that date. He asserts that strict conservation measures must be maintained until new supplies actually start to flow into the city's system.

The rainy season—roughly the month of June—lasted longer than usual this year. Torrential rains in north western Japan caused hundreds of casualties and millions of dollars’ worth of property damage