Session 2018-19

Environmental Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering

Title: Water - scarcity in India

Presented By: Chinmay Vinay Hardas

ROLL NO :- 09
CONTENTS :-
• What is water scar-city ?
 What is water scarcity ?
• Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet
water demand.
• According to the United Nations Water Development Report
(2016), one of the most serious problems the humanity is
facing today is the scarcity of potable water for drinking and
domestic use.

• One-third of the global population (2 billion people) live under

conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the
year.
• According to current scenario,Indians are still not ready to
accept the seriousness of the water problem in our country
the failure of the Indian government machinery to implement
an efficient process for the management and utilisation of
potable as well as ground water,it causes a major water crisis
in India.
Water, water, everywhere, But not a single drop to drink! ,
This single crisis can hit us the hardest in the near future.
Effects of water scarcity on children :-
• 1 out of every 4 deaths under age of
5 world-wide is due to water releated
disease.

• Girls carry water in jugs weighing

20 kg (~ 40 lbs ) on their heads for long
period of time , developing spinal
deformities problems.

• 80% of illness cause by unsafe water

and sanitation condition in the world.

• In developing countries,life threatening

diseases like cholera and diarrhea is major
cause of childern deaths.
Effects of water scarcity on Plants :-
• In potted plants wilting and
ultimately drying up if they did not get
water even for a few days.
• Plants need water to move nutrients
and raw materials throughout their
system mainly areas where
photosynthesis and seed production
takes place.

• If plants don't get sufficient amount

of water the effects of water scarcity on
plants are stunted growth, decrease
food production,photosynthesis activity
is reduced,produced much lesser harvest
than expected, it will definitely results
in death of plants.
• If the plants will die, the animals like herbivores could not be able to
eat them and they will also die and if the herbivores will die
carnivores will also die as they will not be able to eat herbivores.
 Effects of water - scarcity :-
1. Lack of access to drinking water :- The biggest problem that happens
in water scarcity is that people are not able to get sufficient amount
of fresh,clean drinking water.
2. Hunger :- It takes lot of water to grow food and care for
animals Globally, we use water 10% for domestic uses,70%
water for agricultural & irrigation purposes.less water ,animals will
also die,which results in lack of meal.
3.Lack of education:- In some part of India childern and many cultural
girls have walked for several kilometers to collect water,that makes
childern gets tired and some have miss school Also this long journey is
unsafe and dangerous.
4.Poverty :- It is access to quality of water is key to thriving economy
and better living standards for all people.
Manufacturing activities,commercial farms and mining process
all need lot of water,means there is no economic activities occur
and cycle of poverty continues.
 Survey on water scarcity :-
• The United Nations' Food and agricultural organisation
(F.A.O) states that in 2025, 1.9 billion people will be living in
countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-
thirds of the world population could be under stress
conditions.
• 780 million people lack access to get fresh & clean water.
• In the 20th Century,Population grew 3 times but water
demand grew up to 6 times.
• About 600 million Indians are facing high to extreme stress
over water, according to the (Composite Water Resources
Management report)
• In India, at least 200,000 people die every year due to lack
of acess to safe water.
• According to survey states that major areas of gujrat, Rajasthan,
Haryana,Dehli,Punjab faces extremely high water stress i.e., greater than
80%.
 About 40 percent of the population will have no access to clean
drinking water by 2030.

 According to the report,more than 20 cities, including New Delhi,

Bengaluru and Chennai, will run out of groundwater by 2020,
affecting 100 million people.
 Causes for water scarcity :-
Causes :-

I. Demand and Usage of water

 Domestic
• 10% of the rural population lack access to
drinking water.

 Agricultural
• 70% of total water resources used.

 Industrial
• Manufacturing process in industry
• Hydroelectric dams are mainly uses 20% of
total water resources.
 II. Supply
• Surface Water
i. Only 48% of rainfall ends up in India’s rivers
ii. Only 18% of surface water can be used.

• Ground water
i. 82% goes to irrigation and agricultural purposes.
ii. Only 18% is divided between domestic and
industrial.
III. Climate Change
• Climate change is exacerbating the depleting supply
of water.
IV. Population
• India needs to keep boosting agricultural production
in order to feed its growing population.

V. Pollution
• The polluted water then seeps into the groundwater and
contaminates agricultural products when used for
irrigation.

VI. DEFORESTATION
• According to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organization (F.A.O) An estimated 18 million acres
(7.3 million hectares) of forest are lost each year.
 SOLUTIONS FOR WATER SCARCITY :-
Some of the remedies for water scarcity are as follows:-

• Rain water harvesting

• Water less urinals
• Water reuse through reverse-osmosis
• Water conservation
• Water capping
• Educate People
• Afforestation
• Strengthening to pollution control boards.

A small step can make a significant saving in water consumption.

 Rain - water Harvesting :-
 Rainwater harvesting is a technology mainly used for collecting and
storing rainwater from rooftops, the land surface or rock catchments
using simple techniques such as Surface runoff harvesting & Roof top
rain water harvesting.

1. Surface Runoff Harvesting :-

• In urban areas rainwater flows away as surface
runoff. This runoff could be caught and used for
recharging aquifers by adopting appropriate
methods.

• Harvesting of surface runoff and storage of

same into reserviors such as water pans make it
available for use when it required.

• It can reduces soil erosion due to surface water

runoff.
2.Roof -Top Rain water Harvesting (RTRWH) :-
 It is a system of catching rainwater when water falls on rooftop
, the roof becomes the catchments, and the rainwater is collected
from the roof of the house/building. This method is less expensive and
very effective.
 This not only saves water, but saves money and reduces impact on
enviornment.
 3. Water less urinals :-
 Water less urinals do not require
water for flushing and that result
in saving water between 56,800
litres to 1, 70,000 litres of water per
urinal per year.
 The dry operation of waterless
urinals and touch free operations
reduce spreading of communicable
diseases.
 Odour trap mechanisms using
sealant liquid, microbial control,
membrane valve fitted to waterless
urinals assist for preventing odour
developed inside the drainage lines
connected to urinals.
Hence, installing water less urinals in homes, institutions and public places
should be done compulsory.
In India, the cost of a waterless urinal pan with sealant liquid trap
ranges from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.
4. Water Reuse through Reverse osmosis :-
 An average Reverse Osmosis (R.O.) purifier wastes approximately 3
litres of water for every 1 litre of purified water. That means only 25%
of water is purified and 75% of water comes out as waste.
 First, determine the Total Disolved Solid (TDS) level in the reject
water of (R.O. ) before , deciding to reuse for other
purposes.Because,if the Total dissolved solid level is too high in the
R.O. waste water then it might not be suitable for reuse in most of the
applications.

 There are mainly six innovative methods to use waste water from
Reverse osmosis purifiers:-
• Wash car
• Watering plants or home garden
• Wash utensils
• Floor Mopping
• Pre rising laundry
• Cleaning and flushing toilets.
1. Wash car :-
 A single car wash could consume anywhere between 14 litres
(for car wash using a bucket) to 75 litres (for car wash using a
hose pipe) of water.
 Water with a Total DisolvedSolid level of 1200 – 1500 Parts
Per Million can be safely used for car washing. If the
TotalDisolvedSolid level of waste water is high then it can mix
with tap water to dilute it. This should lower down the TDS
level further it can be used for car washing purpose.
2. Watering plants or home garden:-
 For gardening/irrigation use, a Total Disolved Solid (T.D.S.)
level of up to 2100 Parts Per Million (p.p.m) is permissible.
 Use the Reverse osmosis waste water for 15-20 days and check
its effect on the growth of plants. Each plant will respond to
this change differently, which will give a clear understanding
that,which plants are responding better to R.O. waste water.
 Wash utensils:-
Another useful application for ReverseOsmosis waste water is to
wash utensils. Simply store the waste water in bucket or tank,
make sure place the bucket for collecting RO waste water near
kitchen sink so it can be used easily when clean utensils.

Floor Mopping :-
Using the Reverse Osmosis (R.o.) waste water for mopping (clean or
soak liquid by wiping) the floor is easy and will definitely save tens
of litres of water per day.
 In a bigger house, the savings could be in hundreds of litres every single
day. If theTotal Disolved solid (T.D.S.) level of waste water is high (over
2000 P.P.M) :-
• Dilute waste RO water with an equal quantity of tap water. Because plain
RO waste water with high TotalDisolvedSolid may leave salt particles on
the floor.
• Use the RO waste water for floor mopping on alternate days. This will
reduce the chances of any salt deposits.

Pre - Rising laundry :-

Most of the Indian homes now use washing
machines, though washing machines save a lot
of time and effort but also result in a lot of
wastage of water.
We can use the R.O. waste water for daily
laundry as well, but using highTotal Disolved
solids water might not be suitable for some
delicate fabrics. We can create an overhead tank
which collects the RO waste water and use the
waste water from this tank directly in washing
machine .
Cleaning and Flushing Toilets:-
Another big source of clean water wastage in modern homes is
use of toilet flush. Every single flush sends approximately 5 to 7
litres of potable water down the drain. R.O . waste water can be
used effectively to reduce this wastage of clean water by using it
to flush toilets.
 Water Conservation:-
 Water conservation includes all the
policies, strategies and activities to
sustainably manage the natural
resource of fresh water, to protect
the hydrosphere, and to meet the
current and future human demand. Every little bit of water helps
water conservation
1. Install a low-flow showerhead in bathroom:- It can save up to
15 gallons of water during a 10-minute shower.
2. Check and repair leaks of pipe :-
An average of 10,000 gallons of water is wasted every year due
to household leaks.
3. Water plants wisely:- Water lawn or garden early in the
morning or late in the evening, so the water lasts and is not
immediately evaporated by the hot sun.
 Water capping :-
A form of cylindrical diaphragm of
copper in the time-fuse of a shell,
intended to prevent the fuse from
being extinguished by water in .

Educate People :-
 First,reach to school childern talking and educate them about
water scarcity and water conservation.
 Offer jobs related to water conservation activities or any other
foundation.
e.g:- Pani foondation, Water-Aid foundation
 The World Wide Organisation estimates that by 2025, two-thirds
of the world’s population may face water shortages.
 This means that education focusing on issues of water conservation
water scarcity, and water protection is needed to help equip these
 AFFORESTATION:-
 Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area
where there was no previous tree cover.
 Afforestation is highly important to maintain biodiversity and ecological
balances. It is also important to prevent global warming, soil erosion and
pollution. Afforestration purifies the environment and helps in reducing the
carbon dioxide level.
 Many government and non-governmental organizations engage in
programs of afforestation to create forests, increase carbon capture(it is
the process of capturing waste carbon dioxide (C02) from large point
sources) helps to improve biodiversity.

 It mainly minimizes effect

of soil erosion & to control
Acid rain..

 Indian government
plans to spend a $6.2 billion
(Rs 41,000 crore) to
increase India’s green cover.
Strengthening to pollution control boards :-
 The main governmental organisation such as C.P.C.B
(Central pollution Control Board )& S.P.C.B.( State Pollution control board )
is mainly engage into prevention and control of water pollution.
 Central pollution control board (CPCB) was constituted in September ,1974
under water (prevention and control of pollution) Act.
 This organisation is mainly collect information relating to water pollution and
to encourage,conduct,participate in investigations and research relating to
problems on water pollution.
 National Water Quality
Monitoring Network.
(NWQMN) it helps in water
quality data on rivers,
lakes, ponds, tanks and
groundwater locations
being monitored under the
network.

Water Quality Trend of B.O.D in River Yamuna

 CASE STUDY ON WATER - SCARCITY IN Chennai :-

 In the city of over 10 million faces water shortage not only

during summer months but also throughout the year.
In 2018, NITI Aayog warned that there will be no fresh water in
Chennai in the coming decades.

 In this year, Chennai’s per capita water supply has already

plunged to 60 litres per day. Also, the situation of pure water
in the suburbs and slums is getting worse.

 Google Earth satellite images confirm that Chennai has no

less than 100 water bodies of 5-20 hectares each.
 The fresh water in almost every water body ( i.e., Sea or Reservoir)
located in Chennai has been rendered unfit for any type of use.
Because, the lake has turned into a dump for the extensive plastic
waste generated across this area.
 Almost every water body in
Chennai is losing precious
freshwater to pollution.

 The worst part of Chennai’s

water management is that it
is chaotic (confusing).The
water bodies, with precious
freshwater, aren’t managed
by any one agency,there is
no co - ordination between
them.