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| Drop by Drop - The Urgency of Saving Water | | | Dr. Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
William Ashworth said that “Children of a culture born in a water-rich environment, we have never really learned how important water is to us. We understand it, but we do not respect it.” India is one of the many countries that are facing water scarcity today. Water Covers two-Thirds of the Surface of the Earth, but fresh Water is only 0.002% on the earth.
There is no life without water. Water is not only important for human beings but for the entire ecosystem. In summer heat wave repeats year after year. This year it is more. We should be prepared. Water sources should be created. Unmindful of bad impact on the ecology, we have been destroying forests, drying up lakes by filling mud and construction of buildings, unplanned urbanization, and the like. The greed has no bounds. Small trees are cut ruthlessly. On the other hand we do not want to reduce harms of infinite solar heat by adopting simplest methods of keeping premises solar passive like white roofs and planting trees drip irrigated by self harvested infinite water.
Water is central to our lives but has not been the central point of focus in our planning while we rapidly evolve into an urban society. Water is critical for sustainable development, including environmental integrity and the alleviation of poverty and hunger, and is indispensable for human health and well-being.
The water scarcity is mostly man made due to excess population growth and mismanagement of water resources. Water scarcity can be defined as a situation when people don’t have enough water to fulfil their basic needs. Depletion of fresh water has become a threat to our existence. According to some scientists, the quantity and the quality of water are degrading day by day. Although Earth is covered with almost 71% of water, the quality is that we cannot use it in day-to-day life for domestic purposes.
There is an acute water shortage in almost all the cities due to changed lifestyle of people. Most of our lakes have dried up. Ground water levels are abysmally low, besides being contaminated. There is not enough water for the city’s burgeoning population.
On must remember that India’s economy is heavily dependent on agriculture. Rain water harvesting can also be used effectively to strengthen irrigation networks. There are plenty of ways to save and recycle water. Fix all leaking taps in your house. Seventy to 150 litres of water are wasted due to dripping taps. As long as water flows from our taps we are satisfied. We don’t understand the value of water. One can purify the stored water and use it for various purposes like washing, cleaning and cooking.
The government needs to enhance its investment in technology and include all stakeholders at the planning level to ensure optimization of existing resources. Increasing population and rapid urbanization has led to over-use of water resources leading to water pollution and scarcity. Rain, rivers and wells have been man’s traditional sources of fresh water. Global warming upsets natural patterns of rainfall. Rivers are slowly killed at their sources by steady destruction of forests and the construction of big dams, and over development of groundwater.
Development cannot be reversed. But technology could be reoriented to serve the dual purpose of conserving water and regulating its use. We have to pay attention to the importance of fresh water and be able to maintain the management of fresh water resources. Don’t we think leaving aside global solutions; something should be done at the national and regional levels? It is rightly said “A drop of water is worth more than a sack of gold to a thirsty man.” |
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