Sustainable Urban Water Management
Strategies
Kulwant Singh and Sajib Mahanta
Abstract India is suffering a very significant water crisis with economic growth,
livelihoods, human well-being, as well as ecological sustainability at stake. The
macro-water availability and numbers are unsettling; India is home to *17% of
world’s population but has only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources. Evidence
also suggests that, 11 out of 20 largest cities in India face an extreme risk of water
stress and the per capita water supply is considerably lower than the per capita
demand. A closer look at cropping patterns in the Indian states also reveals a
frightening inefficiency and suboptimal planning that is causing most water-related
problems, including depletion of the groundwater tables at an alarming rate. The
bigger issue here is that the scarcity of water resources has many cascading effects
including desertification, risk to biodiversity, industry, energy sector and risk of
exceeding the carrying capacity of urban hubs. With a country generating 140 BCM
of wastewater annually, mismanagement of wastewater which also contaminates
groundwater, lack of liquid waste management, poor sanitation conditions and poor
hygiene habits has contributed to a major portion of population suffering from
water-borne diseases (Strategy for New India @ 75 (NITI Aayog 2018), p. 102,
https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Strategy_for_New_India.pdf). Water scarcity
can seem difficult to full grasp, given the dichotomous ways in which water is
affecting habitations. To tackle the complex water challenge facing India, it is
imperative to take a holistic view of water, starting with the hydrological system,
the interactions of this system with climate change on the one hand, and with
human factors across agriculture, industrial and energy production activity on the
other. Thus, this chapter identifies the issues and challenges in managing water
sustainably, explores the various Government initiatives on water management and
recommends a holistic strategy for water demand management.
K. Singh (&)
3R WASTE Foundation (India), Gurgaon, India
S. Mahanta
FINISH Society, Guwahati, India
e-mail: mahantasajib@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
G. Chadha and A. B. Pandya (eds.), Water Governance and Management in India,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1472-9_2
23
Strategies
Kulwant Singh and Sajib Mahanta
Abstract India is suffering a very significant water crisis with economic growth,
livelihoods, human well-being, as well as ecological sustainability at stake. The
macro-water availability and numbers are unsettling; India is home to *17% of
world’s population but has only 4% of the world’s freshwater resources. Evidence
also suggests that, 11 out of 20 largest cities in India face an extreme risk of water
stress and the per capita water supply is considerably lower than the per capita
demand. A closer look at cropping patterns in the Indian states also reveals a
frightening inefficiency and suboptimal planning that is causing most water-related
problems, including depletion of the groundwater tables at an alarming rate. The
bigger issue here is that the scarcity of water resources has many cascading effects
including desertification, risk to biodiversity, industry, energy sector and risk of
exceeding the carrying capacity of urban hubs. With a country generating 140 BCM
of wastewater annually, mismanagement of wastewater which also contaminates
groundwater, lack of liquid waste management, poor sanitation conditions and poor
hygiene habits has contributed to a major portion of population suffering from
water-borne diseases (Strategy for New India @ 75 (NITI Aayog 2018), p. 102,
https://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Strategy_for_New_India.pdf). Water scarcity
can seem difficult to full grasp, given the dichotomous ways in which water is
affecting habitations. To tackle the complex water challenge facing India, it is
imperative to take a holistic view of water, starting with the hydrological system,
the interactions of this system with climate change on the one hand, and with
human factors across agriculture, industrial and energy production activity on the
other. Thus, this chapter identifies the issues and challenges in managing water
sustainably, explores the various Government initiatives on water management and
recommends a holistic strategy for water demand management.
K. Singh (&)
3R WASTE Foundation (India), Gurgaon, India
S. Mahanta
FINISH Society, Guwahati, India
e-mail: mahantasajib@gmail.com
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
G. Chadha and A. B. Pandya (eds.), Water Governance and Management in India,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1472-9_2
23