A large developing country like India is critical to meeting the target 7C of the Millennium Development Goals which calls for halving the proportion of the population (baseline 1990) without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Even though the MDGs set out to measure and reduce the population with sustainable access to safe water and sanitation, difficulties were encountered in measuring “safe” and “sustainable”, which led to a revision of the target to achieving access to improved sources of water and sanitation. It has been argued that the revised goals grossly over-estimate the access to safe water and sanitation.
Table 1 shows the distribution of India’s population with access
However, it is a somewhat different story on the sanitation front. Though the proportion of the population with access to improved sanitation nearly doubled in the last 20 years, a majority of the population still does not have access to any sanitation and has to resort to open defecation. The five states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa – largely rural and located in the central and eastern parts of the country – have less than 30% access to any sanitation source. It appears that India is likely to miss the Target 7C of the MDG (improved sanitation access), and any hope of achieving the target by 2015 rests on the progress made in these five large states.
Access to water and sanitation also involves issues of gender and caste. In 2005, only half the population had access to water on premises, and 12% spend thirty minutes or longer daily to get water for the household. Of the households that don’t get water on premises, adult females are responsible for fetching water in 81% of the families. Even among children below 15 years of age, girls are four times more likely than boys to be responsible for collecting water. Indian society has an uncomfortable history with caste discrimination, as lower castes have been traditionally entrusted with occupations such as collecting human/livestock waste.
These underlying traditions show up in the data as well. The states with the highest rates of access to sanitation (except the capital region of Delhi) are the eight north-eastern states and the southern state of Kerala, all of them known for an egalitarian society.Additional analysis of the sanitation data by income quintiles reveals that the poorest 40% in India have hardly benefitted from improvements in sanitation. The poorest quintile is 47 times more likely than their richest counterpart to practice open defecation, a disparity three times more severe than that observed in Africa.
Although urban areas of the country fare better than their rural counterparts on water and sanitation access, a larger and denser population, coupled with dwindling natural sources of freshwater pose unique challenges to large cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.
Table 2 shows the status of water and wastewater infrastructure in the
A household study conducted in seven cities in India found the average per capita consumption of water to be 92lt per capita per day (LPCD), below the WHO guideline of 100 LPCD for optimal access. Further analysis of the data by socio-economic quintiles shows that water consumption increases with a rise in socio-economic status, although the inter-quintile differences are not significant. The near-uniform water consumption across different income groups is largely a result of supply constraints and is not impacted by varying economic abilities.
These numbers raise doubts about whether access to improved water sources translates to regular availability of safe water. Additionally, the lack of wastewater treatment capacity in cities like Delhi and Kolkata threatens public health and the safety of already-scarce freshwater resources. A discussion on water security is incomplete without planning for adequate infrastructure for wastewater treatment. Not only does it allow for better management of available water resources, treated wastewater can be an additional source of fresh water in water-deficient regions.
Even though India has reported tremendous progress towards achieving the MDGs for access to water, the revised targets do not necessarily mean continuous and safe access to water, not to mention economically affordable water. Even large cities that boast higher rates of access are only able to guarantee very little water for a few hours a day, imposing health, economic and social costs on the residents.
The Indian economy loses 73 million working days a year due to waterborne diseases, caused by a combination of lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation. Access to sanitation, even more so than water, is a robust indicator of human development due to the complex nature of social, institutional and cultural factors that play a role. Low rates of access to sanitation underscore lack of action on several fronts, only some of which are due to lack of financial resources. Targeted investments in communities and individuals, along with institutions, will allow India to expand and ensure safe access to water and sanitation to all its residents well beyond 2015.
Source: Global Water Forum
Desalination solution to water woes
A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan – Analysis of Growth Opportunities in the Indian Desalination Market – has found that the market earned revenues of र1.12 billion in 2011 and estimates this to reach र7.48 billion in 2015.The desalination market is in its growth stage and has substantial opportunities for the next 10 years, as industries such as power, refineries, and chemicals are adopting efficient and sustainable technologies for the supply of fresh water.
According to the report, Mumbai has high per capita water consumption, while the demand for water in Chennai is expected to increase four times by 2025. As both Mumbai and Chennai are located near the coast; desalination is deemed the most feasible option.
With appropriate government initiatives and legislations on water treatment and private partnerships, the desalination market is expected to pick up steam after 2012. The market will get a leg up from larger government funds, municipal desalination projects, and coastal industry power projects.
Reliability, efficiency, and technical experience are the other key factors considered by end users while choosing desalination suppliers. A company that provides end-to-end solutions and lowers the operational and energy consumption cost to the end-user will occupy a central position in Indian market.