Water,Water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink- Samuel Taylor Coleridge from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Statistics of Water Pollution in India:

In the winter session of Parliament on 2nd December 2021, the central government has admitted that water is now polluted in many states of India.

1. The amount of lead is higher than normal in 92 Districts of 14 states .

2. The amount of arsenic is high in the 154 Districts of 21 States.

3. The amount of fluoride in water is high in 370 Districts of 23 States .

4. There are 423 Districts in 23 States in which the amount of nitrate is high.

5. There are 249 Districts in 18 States and union territories where the salinity in water is high.

6. As India grows and urbanizes, its water bodies are getting toxic. It’s estimated that around 70% of surface water in India is unfit for consumption. Every day, almost 40 million litres of wastewater enters rivers and other water bodies with only a tiny fraction adequately treated.

7. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2018 identified 351 polluted river stretches in India. The assessment of water quality for identification of polluted river stretches found that 31 states and Union territories (UT) had rivers and streams that did not meet the water quality criteria. These states / UTs have to submit their action plans for the same.

Causes of Water Pollution:

1. Sewage Waste – Liquid waste of Households, Agricultural lands and Factories poisonous and chemical Waste Direct discharge into lakes and rivers.

2. Dumping of Solid Waste – Dumping of solid wastes and plastic in water bodies causes pollution.

3. Oil Pollution – Sea water gets polluted by Ships and tankers due to oil spilled from them in water while travelling.

4. Social and Religious Practices – Dumping of Human waste while bathing and throwing flowers and other materials religious customs.

5. Eutrophication – Increase of algae in water which depletes the oxygen in water.

6. Use of ground water – Increase in use of ground water lead to decrease in ground water and water found more deep in ground is higher in pollutants.

Measures to Reduce Water Pollution at Individual Level:

1. Use of less Plastic and Plastic Items.

2. Reuse Items as many times as possible.

3. Do not Dispose of Oils in the Sink.

4. Do not Dump toxic chemicals in drain and toilet.

5. Use environmentally Friendly Products.

Measures to Reduce Water Pollution at Government level:

1. Making of water treatment plant for removing pollutants from waste water through a physical, chemical or biological process before discharge into water bodies.

2. Promotion of more and more environmental friendly agriculture or green agricultural methods to reduce the use of chemicals in agriculture.

3. Government should reduce the use of plastic in country by banning it and by making strict laws to make it possible.

Scarcity of Water in India

1. Several girls are denied education purely because they are thrust with the responsibility of fetching water.

2. India constitutes 16 per cent of the world’s population, but the country has only four per cent of the world’s freshwater resources. With the changing weather patterns and recurring droughts, India is water stressed.

3. As many as 256 of 700 districts have reported ‘critical’ or ‘over-exploited’ groundwater levels, according to the latest data from the Central Ground Water Board (2017). This means that fetching water in these districts has become harder as the water table has fallen.

4. A rural woman in Rajasthan walks over 2.5 kilometres to reach a water source, according to a report by the National Commission for Women. This is probably an underestimation, but the bottom-line is that our women and girls spend a significant proportion of their time fetching water.

5. India has been consistently working towards improving access to water. The Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) guidelines released in 2019 provide provision of tap water connections to households, which hold promise for the women in the country.

Effects of water scarcity in country:

1. Lack of Access to Drinking Water – People are not able to get fresh water and clean water . In measure they have to drink saline and polluted water.

2. Hunger – If there is scarcity of water then there is no crops and Humans and animals die to due to lack food .

3. Lack of education – Children working to help get water to home for the family.

4. Diseases – If people have don’t access to clean water and by drinking polluted water people suffer from disease.

5. Poverty – People who are dealing with water scarcity are often stuck in poverty as well.

6. Migration – When large areas of land may no longer be suitable for living because of water scarcity lead to migration.

Measures for Water Conservation :

1. Rainwater Harvesting – When it comes to domestic purposes, these systems are relevant to both commercial and domestic properties. When collected, rainwater can be used for garden irrigation, toilet flushing, and even in washing machine.

2. Use of Modern Irrigation Technology – Use of Modern Irrigation Technology in Agriculture like- Drip Irrigation. This new technology helps to save plenty of water in agriculture.

3. Water Reuse – Water reuse a necessary method for conserving water.There are a variety of methods used in the treatment of waste water to ensure that it is safe to use for irrigation of food crops and/or drinking water. Example- Sand Filtration.

4. Dual flush toilets – Dual flush toilets include two buttons or handles to flush different levels of water. Dual flush toilets use up to 67% less water than conventional toilets.

5. Wastewater reuse or recycling systems, allowing:

• Reuse of graywater for flushing toilets or watering gardens
• Recycling of wastewater through purification at a water treatment plant

Conclusion:

Water pollution and Water Scarcity is biggest problem for a country . Availability of fresh water helps in boosting the economy of country . It is responsibility of government to provide fresh water to every citizen in the country. The Duty of citizen is Save water in every time when use and Do not pollute water and water bodies. We have to raise awareness about measure to save water and save water and water bodies from pollution. To conclude, water scarcity has become an alarming issue day by day. If we do not take the problem of water scarcity seriously now, our future generations are going to suffer severely and may even have to buy this necessity at a high cost.

Reference:

1. Down to earth.org

2. Conserve Future energy

3. Different Books

4, CPCB

5. Parliament debate

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