Highlights

Recognize the great availability of water, though perhaps not exactly where and when it is needed.- learn to use water properly and effectively – appreciate water-cost of water – value of water in various products – using technology to get water everywhere.

Quotations for consideration:

• “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” – Anon
• “Water is a miracle element, vital for Life and must so be valued.” – Col. P. L. N. Choudary, AVSM

Background

India has always been blessed with many perennial rivers fed by the Himalayan snow and glaciers meltwaters and Monsoon rains. The rain waters were gently absorbed by the dense forests and allowed to slowly seep into the underground aquifers. Yet over the past few decades drought has become a major problem. This is because of the extensive de-forestation, leading to the rain waters now forcefully flowing over the land and taking away the top soil instead of seeping into the ground, and also, due to the careless and wasteful use of available water especially for agriculture and even industry.

Key metrics

• Of the water on the planet, 97.3 percent is too salty to consume. Another 2.0 percent is locked up in the Polar and mountain ice and only the remaining 0.7 percent (which includes the water vapour in the atmosphere) is available for our consumption. Bickering over just this 0.7 percent and expecting an order of magnitude change from it is futile. This is not to say that we should ignore the benefits of conservation and efficiency, but that for fresh water to be easily and freely available where and when required at reasonable minimum cost, requires the application of long term sustainable practices and technological solutions. (See-Annexure). Energy and infrastructure capitalisation are the two main issues with most technological solutions. With abundant energy (Solar/wind) half this problem is solved. Presently our use of this 0.7 percent of freshwater is as follows:
  • Agriculture – 75 percent
  • Industry – 18 percent
  • Domestic and drinking water – 7 percent.

• Water wars arise more due to lack of adequate water for projected Agricultural needs at the right time than scarcity of water for domestic purposes.
• About 30 percent or more of the Earth’s fresh water supply lies underground.
• Geologists claim that the Earth has more water in its mantle than that existing in all the oceans on the surface

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