Over the past two months we spent a large chunk of time studying the water scenario — how the entire system of urban water supply is being operated out in two cities — Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra) and what could be the scope of alternate and sustainable water resources in substituting the traditional way of consumption. We were not looking for an obvious answer, we were just trying to apply what we were taught in our course to what we’re going to learn in the coming months and to get an idea of the picture on how the system is in place in both the cities. More than an experience, the couple of months were a reflection — which changed the way we look at the reality which is in front of us and how we live in a web of complexities, and why the solution does not just lie in a policy or a technology but should be accompanied by compassion and a social way of thinking.
The article tries to focus on three particular issues: Surface water and how the authorities see large infrastructure projects as a solution to tackle water access issue — for both present as well as for the future; Increasing water disparities across various sectors: Rural, urban and industries; meagre priority given to adapt sustainable alternate measures. All the issues lead to a realisation — on the way the urban structure is in place not only in these two focus cities but in the entire country where similar kinds of issues continue to persist and similar kinds of solutions are sought after.
Issues and equivalences
The two cities have different geographies. One situated along the east coast sandwiched between Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal and the other at the centre of the country located near beguiling tiger and natural reserves. Both the cities serve as a lifeline to the people in the regions they’re present in — Uttarandhra and Vidarbha. Despite being located in different geographies and governed by different administrations, the issues which persist — especially in the province of water — remain similar and identical. Both the municipalities look at some large dams and reservoirs to cater the consumption needs of residents. For both, major sources of water have been Pench reservoir and Kanhan River for Nagpur; Yeleru, Raiwada, and Mehadrigedda reservoirs for Vizag. Along with various other minor sources. These structures cater needs for present, while for future ideas like Polavaram and Kochi barrage are projected as solutions for increasing water demand in these spaces.
The two cities are vastly industrialised. Industries are in fact gadgets which clear the way for greater economic growth. The point here is that the governments chew over these as panaceas of every economic issue the regions have been facing. Here, for many, industries define identity. That’s the perception which is present far and wide exhaustively. For Heavy industries — just like the environment — water is the cornerstone. The administrations rightly recognise this conventional fact. They award massive priority to ensure these units get the desired water they call for. This priority comes with a trade-off and a cost. Both the cities are surrounded with hinterlands which are extremely water stressed. In an ideal world the authorities would come up with a win-win game plan. In practise, the rural regions are always on the losing side — where the water which should be provided to them end up in sacrifice to the growing production units in and around these cities. This is leading to a ripple effect where they look for alternate sources of water — like groundwater — which is resulting in exploitation of aquifers.
American activist Annie Leonard once famously said “there is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere”. This aptly describes the picture in both the cities where around 80% of the water received by any city turns into sewage, and most of this is left to enter into the ocean or into the nearby rivers through drains, a certain amount of this sewage water is treated and sold to industries generating revenue to the local water departments. Still a lot of untreated sewage water is discharged into drains and ocean, befouling the ecosystem.
The rainfall is the strength for both the cities, which exceed the national average every year. Despite getting enough rainfall, sustainable mediums like rainwater harvesting and aquifer recharge are not being compelled prudently. The rain water mostly flows into the drains and to the sea with no precise beneficiary of the resource. The law mandates both the cities as part of building codes to install structures which harvest rainwater but its enforcement is still a distant dream. They offer certain incentives – like small relief on annual property tax of the household, but the outcome of these kinds of incentives is under debate. Methods like harvesting rainwater, decentralised sewage treatment plants are considered as low hanging fruits which can be employed and harnessed, but impassiveness of the authorities towards decentralised and sustainable solutions makes it too difficult to turn them into a reality.
Unconventional as endeavour
Cities follow a pattern: Depend on a convention, modify the convention and portray a new convention. We tend to see the structures we constructed decades ago, as the retrievers of water access. They do justify the mandate. At the same time when urbanisation is blistering, water consumption is a directly proportional factor. It needs — along with conventional way of thinking — a new way of fostering which doesn’t have to be a reinvention of the wheel. It's not like two expanding cities are following a particular approach and face certain identical issues, but it is realisation of a method which is a reflection on the way we chose to urbanise — with winners and losers. Water falling in the latter.
Fixing this wheel is indeed a challenge, because some subjects go beyond public matters, they involve complex and multidisciplinary facets — social, politics, environment and finance — water fits well into these. The nature of this resource as a basic need makes it prone to various contentions. There is no such city which is immune to such contentions, thereby finding a holistic solution to water related obstacles and conflicts become complicated. The alternate sustainable measures advocated have the potential to turn out as assets. Like a simple formula solving a complex quadratic problem — harnessing the water from rain and its storage, proper treatment of the generated sewage and improvement in operation and maintenance of current water infrastructure in place — can act as a medium to tackle the crisis. The kind of hurdles both these cities face are the same in every urban scene in the country. It is the unconventional way of thinking which has the way out.
Vrushali Gaurkar (Nagpur)
Vamsi Krishna (Vishakhapatnam)
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