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WATER CONDITIONS IN UDAIPUR: THE CITY OF LAKES

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 WATER CONDITIONS IN UDAIPUR: THE CITY OF LAKES
Barkha Chaplot∗ and Shamshad∗∗

The present study analyses the existing water sources, water supply, water usages and
problems of water in Udaipur city. The study is based on primary data collected by
field survey through the direct questionnaire to the respondents during 2014 in Udaipur
city. The study shows that the main source of water supply in the city is surface and
ground water to fulfil the daily water needs. Lakes of Fatehsagar, Pichola, Jaisamand
and Mansi Wakal Dam are the main surficial sources of water for the residents of
Udaipur city. Besides this, Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has 53
tube wells and 29 open well/borings/step wells, which supplemented the existing water
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supply system in the city. About 50 per cent households are satisfied with the existing
water supply provided by Municipal Corporation in Udaipur city. Nearly three-fourth per
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cent households have indoor tap water connections, which are provided by PHED, while
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21.80 per cent households fetched the water from private bore wells and 5.13 per cent
households used shared taps and hand pumps in the city.Furthermore, large proportion
of households require water between 101 to 500 litres per day due to improved living
standard of residents. About half share of households practiced water conservation in
their houses while remaining share never practiced water conservation method. Forty per
cent households observed poor pressure of water supply. The ratio of satisfied households
is higher than the dissatisfied households on the purity of water supply in Udaipur city.
More than eighty per cent households witnessed the problem of water shortage. More
than fifty per cent households observed water pollution is a very serious problem in the
city.

INTRODUCTION

Water covers 71 per cent area of the Earth’s surface. Out of total volume of water, only 2.5 per
cent is freshwater. The development of any city of the world has taken place near some sources
of water supply. Population and water requirement rise very rapidly, whereas, water availability
is continuously decreasing due to inefficient management and deterioration (Nair, 2010: 2). Water
availability and use of water are the function of the total flow of water through a basin, its quality,and
the structures, laws, regulations, and economic factors that control its use (Paul, et. al. 2002: 3).
Almost every part of the world face problem of water due to multifarious changes in the
environment. Water plays a central and critical role in all aspects of life viz. in the national
environment, in economies, in food security, in production, in politics, etc. Water security emerges
as an increasingly important and vital issue of sustainable development. Analysing freshwater and
its relationship to human consumption, it is useful to delineate two concepts: availability vs. access.
Availability refers to the physical presence of adequate water supplies, whereas access refers to the
∗ UGC, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Geography, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur.

E-mail: barkhachaplotjain@gmail.com
∗∗ ICSSR, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

E-mail: shamshad26@gmail.com

129
130 Indian Journal of Regional Science Vol. L, No. 1, 2018

ability of people within a particular region to actually receive or gain access to clean fresh water
(Mehta, 2012: 498–499).
Objectives are
to analyse existing status of water supply in Udaipur city.
to evaluate the water usages in the city, and
to examine the water problems in the study area.

THE STUDY AREA

Udaipur city has been selected for the present study. The city is located at 24◦ 35 north latitude and
73◦ 44 east longitude. The UMC (Udaipur Municipal Corporation) is covered an area of 64 sq. km.
At present, the city is divided into 55 wards. For the easy analysis and representation of the data,
the wards of city have been grouped into five zones: Udaipur city is the sixth largest urban centre
in Rajasthan. The north-south extension is 18.5 km and the east-west extension is 27.5 km and its
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location along the major transport arteries of the country NH-8 connecting Delhi-Mumbai, NH-76
towards Chitoorgarh district, SH-9 and SH-32 connecting to Chitoorgarh and Banswara districts.
Udaipur city is drained by river Ahar on the eastern flanks of southern Aravallian range. The city is
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surrounded by the Aravalli hills and lies above 577 meter from the mean sea level in a bowl-shaped
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basin.According to Census of India 2011, the population of Udaipur city is 4.5 million. The density
of population in the city is 7,042 persons per square kilometre. The general literacy rate is 80.15 per
cent, the respective figures for male and female are 54.44 per cent and 45.56 per cent respectively.
The general sex ratio of population is 927.

DATABASE AND METHODOLOGY

The present study is based on primary as well as secondary sources of data generated through
comprehensive field survey in the Udaipur city. Primary survey was carried out during 2014 for the
collection of the data through the direct questionnaire. Simple random sampling has been applied
for collection of data in each ward. The individual slips were used to ease the task of survey. The
household has been taken as a smallest unit of enquiry. One per cent households randomly from
each ward are selected for the survey. The survey was carried out in the city during January to
June 2014. On the basis of one per cent random sampling, the survey consisted of 945 sampled
households in Udaipur city out of 94,434 households. Secondary data has been collected from Public
Health and Engineering Department, Nagar Nigam and City Development Plan.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The total ground water production is estimated to 11 MLD. About 108 punghats (village well) and
2100 hand pumps have been developed in various localities of the city. Water from hand pumps
and punghats is used for domestic purposes and provided free of cost to the household population.
There are total 77,835 water connections in the city, which included the connections provided to
domestic (metered and flat), industrial, institutional, commercial and government buildings.
During last decade, Udaipur has faced droughts for many years and consequently experienced
severe shortage of water supply. According to PHED, the water demand in 2014 was 115 MLD in
Udaipur city. Only 85 MLD water demand could be supplied to the citizens of the city.
Water Conditions in Udaipur: The City of Lakes 131

Status of Water Supply

Table 1 explains the zone wise status of existing water supply for the households by Municipal
Corporation of Udaipur city. About 50 per cent households are satisfied with the water supply
provided by the municipal corporation and they judge as good (43.75 per cent) and very good (6.57
per cent). More than one-third population felt that the water supply is just fair (33.95 per cent) .
Table 1: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Status of Water Supply for Household Population
Zones Very Good Good Fair Poor Don’t Know Total
Zone I 3.31 27.81 54.97 7.95 5.96 100.00
Zone II 12.31 53.85 29.74 1.54 2.56 100.00
Zone III 2.73 56.83 33.33 3.28 3.83 100.00
Zone IV 7.00 36.00 48.00 6.00 3.00 100.00
Zone V 6.51 41.86 33.95 8.37 9.30 100.00
Total 6.57 43.75 39.30 5.40 4.98 100.00
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.
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About 10.38 per cent households are not satisfied with the existing water supply, as they have
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their own personal bore wells in the houses and no water connection provided by the government.
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Households in Zone V (8.37 per cent) and Zone I (7.95 per cent) were very dissatisfied from the
existing water supply. Less than ten per cent households in all the zones of the city considered the
existing water supply as very good. Nonetheless, overall existing water supply given by Municipal
Corporation in Udaipur city is good and fair.

Sources of Water Supply

The data regarding zone wise per cent distribution of sources of water supply for households in
Udaipur city has been presented in Table 2. The Table 2 exhibits that nearly three-fourth per
cent households have indoor tap water connections as main source of water supply given by PHED
(Public Health Engineering Department). Households having private bore wells in their houses
are accounted for 21.80 per cent while the households who have shared taps and hand pumps are
registered only 5.13 per cent. Very few (0.18 per cent) households fetched water from tankers to
fulfil their daily routine water needs.
Table 2: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Sources of Water Supply for Household Population
Zones Indoor Water Taps Shared Taps Bore Wells Hand Pumps Others
Zone I 72.73 4.85 16.36 6.06 —
Zone II 75.43 1.29 22.84 0.43 —
Zone III 74.78 25.00 20.80 1.33 0.44
Zone IV 75.31 2.93 20.08 1.26 0.42
Zone V 66.53 1.61 27.02 4.84 —
Total 72.88 2.52 21.80 2.61 0.18
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.
More than seventy per cent households in all the zones of the city have the sources of water supply
from indoor water taps except Zone V (66.53 per cent) . The households witnessed maximum bore
wells in their houses in Zone V (27.02 per cent) and minimum in Zone I (16.36 per cent).
132 Indian Journal of Regional Science Vol. L, No. 1, 2018

Daily Use of Water for Different Purposes

According to PHED, there is need of 125 litre water per person in the city. Table 3 shows the data
regarding zone wise daily use of water for different purposes by household population in Udaipur
city. A large proportion (58.52 per cent) of households used to consume water between 101 to 500
litres daily. More than one-fourth share of population (28.57 per cent) used water between 501 to
1000 litres per day. It means that nearly ninety per cent households (87.09 per cent) consume water
100 to 1000 litres per day. The daily consumption of water of 8.68 per cent households is less than
100 litres. Very few households (3.60 per cent) consume water more than 1000 litres per day in the
city.
Table 3: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Daily Use of Water by Household Population (in
Litres)
Zones Less 100 101–500 501–1000 1001–1500 1501–2000 More 2000
Zone I 2.65 61.59 31.79 1.32 1.99 0.66
Zone II 4.10 64.62 29.23 1.03 0.51 0.51
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Zone III 7.61 60.33 27.72 2.72 1.09 0.54

Zone IV 11.50 51.00 33.50 2.50 1.00 0.50
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Zone V 15.35 56.28 21.86 3.26 2.33 0.93

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Total 8.68 58.52 28.57 2.22 1.38 0.63

Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Available Water Taps within Houses

The availability of number of taps within a house means large amount of use of water. Table 4 shows
nearly one-third (32.06 per cent) households have more than 5 taps within their houses, while, more
than fifty per cent households have taps between 2 to 4. Only 1.06 per cent households did not have
any single tap.
Table 4: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Number of Water Taps within Houses of the House-
holds
Zones No 1 2 3 4 More Than 5
Zone I — 4.64 11.26 37.09 30.46 16.56
Zone II — 6.67 19.49 18.97 14.87 40.00
Zone III — 23.91 13.04 16.30 11.96 34.78
Zone IV — 11.00 9.50 17.00 22.00 40.50
Zone V 4.65 17.21 19.07 18.14 15.35 25.58
Total 1.06 13.02 14.71 20.74 18.41 32.06
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Use of Water by Domestic Appliances

Zone wise percentage use of water by domestic appliances within household has been shown in the
Table 5. The standard of residents has continuously increased. Water utilization or consumption
has increased due to increase use of the appliances in nowadays like, bath tubs, geysers and coolers.
Water Conditions in Udaipur: The City of Lakes 133

Table 5: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Water Usage by Domestic Appliances by Household

Population
Appliances Zone I Zone II Zone III Zone IV Zone V Total
Shower 19.40 20.35 21.98 19.62 18.68 20.01
Flushing Toilet 22.24 16.72 17.61 20.85 21.70 19.80
Hand Basin 22.60 20.66 22.13 20.71 23.99 22.01
Bath Tub — 3.00 1.46 1.37 1.58 1.51
Washing Machine 15.12 16.72 17.32 16.60 13.07 15.78
Geyser 7.12 8.68 10.33 9.88 11.49 9.61
Cooler 13.17 11.04 8.30 10.01 8.05 9.98
Others 0.36 2.84 0.87 0.96 1.44 1.30
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Sources of Water for Drinking Purpose

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The zone wise per cent distribution of water for drinking purpose of household in Udaipur city has
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been listed in Table 6. The largest proportion (83.70 per cent) of drinking water is provided by
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PHED for households in the city, followed by wells (10.70 per cent), bottle water (3.32 per cent)
and hand pumps (2.28 per cent).
Table 6: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Distribution of Sources of Water for Drinking
Purpose
Zones PHED Well Bottle Hand Zones PHED Well Bottle Hand
Water Water Pump Water Water Pump
Zone I 86.54 7.69 0.64 5.13 Zone IV 85.64 8.91 5.45 —
Zone II 85.86 10.10 2.53 1.52 Zone V 75.69 17.43 2.75 4.13
Zone III 86.24 7.94 4.76 1.06 Total 83.70 10.70 3.32 2.28
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Daily Consumption of Water for Drinking Purpose

The data regarding zone wise daily consumption of water for drinking purpose by household popu-
lation in Udaipur city has been presented in Table 7. The fifty per cent households fetched drinking
Table 7: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Daily Consumption of Water for Drinking Purpose
by Household Population (in Litres)
Zones Below 20 21–40 41–60 61–80 Above 80
Zone I 31.79 58.28 3.97 2.65 3.31
Zone II 62.05 28.72 6.67 1.54 1.03
Zone III 46.74 40.76 10.87 0.54 1.09
Zone IV 51.50 38.50 8.00 1.50 0.50
Zone V 53.02 36.74 10.23 — —
Total 49.95 39.68 8.15 1.16 1.06
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.
134 Indian Journal of Regional Science Vol. L, No. 1, 2018

water less than 20 litres per day. The consumption of drinking water for nearly forty per cent
household lies between 21 to 40 litres per day. The proportion of water used by households for
drinking purpose more than 60 litres is accounted by only 2.22 per cent households in the city.

Use of water purifier

Pure water for drinking is very important for health, as water is a constituent of everyday life. From
the lake to the sky, and to the glass of it, we drink several times in a day; it is very easy to say that
water makes up a huge part of human existence. Table 8 shows per cent distribution of use of water
purifier by households in Udaipur city. Nearly one-third population used water purifiers in their
houses for drinking purpose, while, 69.14 per cent households did not have the water purifier for
drinking. They used direct tap water for drinking provided by Municipal Corporation on alternate
day and also used bore wells for water which they have within their houses.

Status of Water Conservation

Table 9 narrates the zone wise status of water conservation by household population in Udaipur
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city. There are 47.39 per cent households who practice water conservation in their houses and 52.61
per cent households never used such method. The largest proportion of the household population
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was recorded maximum in Zone III (55.49 per cent) followed by Zone IV (52.00 per cent), Zone II
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(46.88 per cent), Zone V (42.72 per cent) and Zone I (35.67 per cent).
Table 8: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Status of Water Conservation and Techniques
Applied for its Conservation
Zones Yes No Using Kitchen For Toilet For Water Other Total
Water for Flushing and Moping Saving
Flower Drainage Floor Taps
Watering Cleaning
Zone I 38.67 61.33 25.75 29.94 31.74 8.98 3.60 100.00
Zone II 46.88 53.13 31.40 20.16 32.17 12.79 3.49 100.00
Zone III 55.49 44.51 26.95 26.56 33.20 9.38 3.90 100.00
Zone IV 52.00 48.00 27.40 23.13 32.38 14.23 2.85 100.00
Zone V 42.72 57.28 23.13 25.85 41.16 5.44 4.42 100.00
Total 47.39 52.61 26.91 24.76 34.47 10.19 3.66 100.00
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Pressure of Water Supply

Zone wise households’ observation on pressure of water supply provided by Municipal Corporation
has been presented in Table 10. Very less share (9.17 per cent) of household population was satisfied
with pressure of water supply and they observed that the pressure of water supply was very good
or excellent. Nearly fifty per cent households (48.53 per cent) felt that the pressure of water is good
but 40.16 per cent households replied that pressure of water supply is poor. Poor satisfaction level
on pressure of water supply was witnessed the highest in Zone I i.e. 57.64 per cent, followed by Zone
III, Zone IV, Zone V and Zone II like, 39.89, 38.97, 36.26 and 31.89 per cent respectively.
Water Conditions in Udaipur: The City of Lakes 135

Table 9: Udaipur City—Zone Wise Households’ Observation on Pressure of Water

Supply
Zones Excellent Very Good Good Poor Very Poor
Zone I 0.69 5.56 33.33 57.64 2.78
Zone II — 17.84 47.57 31.89 2.70
Zone III 1.69 3.93 53.37 39.89 1.12
Zone IV 0.51 7.18 50.26 38.97 3.08
Zone V — 7.69 54.95 36.26 1.10
Total 0.57 8.60 48.53 40.16 2.15
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

Water Pollution

Water pollution means one or more undesirable substances have become constituent of water to
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such an extent that they can affect the health of all the plants, animals and humans. More than
fifty per cent household population observed water pollution is a very serious problem for the city
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while more than one-third population observed that water pollution is a problem for city.
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There is a proper water management system for the waste water in the city, but in the festival
season, people used to immerse the idol of goddess in the lakes.
Table 10: Udaipur City: Zone Wise Households’ Observation on Water Pollution
Zones Water Pollution
Very Serious A Problem Not a Don’t Total
Problem Problem Know
Zone I 57.62 35.10 7.28 — 100.00
Zone II 52.82 38.46 6.67 2.05 100.00
Zone III 66.12 27.32 4.92 1.64 100.00
Zone IV 46.50 42.50 10.00 1.00 100.00
Zone V 53.02 36.28 10.23 0.47 100.00
Total 54.87 36.12 7.94 1.06 100.00
Source: Based on primary survey, 2014.

CONCLUSION

The present paper has analysed the water condition in Udaipur city. The main sources of water
supply in Udaipur city are surface water and ground water. About 50 per cent households are
satisfied with the water supply provided by the municipal corporation and majority of population
judged water supply as good to very good. The analysis exhibits that indoor tap water connections
is the main source of water supply for nearly three-fourth per cent households supplied by Public
Health Engineering Department. Households who have private bore wells in their own house are
accounted for more than one-fifth in the city. According to PHED, there is need of 125 litre water
per person in the city. Above half proportion of households used to consume water between 101 to
500 litres daily in the city. Nearly one-third households have more than 5 taps within their houses,
136 Indian Journal of Regional Science Vol. L, No. 1, 2018

while, more than fifty per cent households have taps between 2 to 4. Only 1.06 per cent households
did not have any taps within their houses.
Nearly one-third population used water purifier in their houses to clean water for drinking
purpose, while, 69.14 per cent households did not have any water purifier. About half share of
households practiced water conservation in their houses while the rest never used water conservation
method. Nearly fifty per cent households felt that the pressure of water supply is good in the city but
40.16 per cent households observed poor pressure of water supply. Moreover, the ratio of satisfied
household population is higher than the dissatisfied household with the purity of water supply in
Udaipur city. The 85.64 per cent households are satisfied with the taste of water, while 14.37
per cent households are not satisfied with the taste of watersupplied by Municipal Corporation in
Udaipur city.
The household population of Udaipur city complained that the colour of water which is supplied
is yellowish, especially in rainy season which means that some undesirable substances are mixed
with the supplied water and that supplied water became polluted water. More than eighty per
cent households witnessed that the water shortage is a problem in the city, wherein, 44.70 per cent
population also rated water shortage a very serious problem in Udaipur City. Only 13.98 per cent
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households registered that the water shortage is not a problem and city has sufficient water for its
population. More than fifty per cent households observed water pollution is a very serious problem
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in the city while more than one-third population felt that water pollution is not a problem in the city.
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REFERENCES

Nair, Shadananan (2010): Challenges in urban water management in a changing environment:

case study from a growing Tropical city. Available at:
http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/bitstream/handle/2042/35646/11107-37NAI.pdf?sequence=1
Bhati, Vinay (2001): The availability and supply of water in Udaipur city, MA Dissertation,
Mohanlal Sukhadia University, Udaipur.
Census of India (2011): Primary census abstract. Office of the Registrar General and Census
Commissioner, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Paul M. Barlow [et al.] (2002): Concepts for National Assessment of Water Availability and Use.
U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1223, Pp. 3.
Yuvaraj, D., P. Alaguraja, M. Sekar, P. Muthuveerran and M. Manivel (2010): Analysis of drinking
water problem in Coimbatore City Corporation, Tamil Nadu, India using Remote Sensing and GIS
tools, International Journal of Environmental Sciences, Volume 1, pp. 71–76.
Mehta, Prashant (2012): Impending water crisis in India and comparing clean water standards
among developing and developed nations,Archives of Applied Science Research, 2012, 4(1),
pp. 497–507.
Hegde, N. G. (2012): Water scarcity and security in India. BAIF Development Research Foundation:
Pune.
Water Conditions in Udaipur: The City of Lakes 137
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Plates 1 and 4: Situation of Water Bodies in Udaipur City, 2010

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