Drinking Water

Speech by Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar on water conservation and sustainable agriculture, challenges for rural development in Maharashtra and possible solutions

aarti — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:19:06 +0000

The four video films below include a talk by Shri Popatrao Pawar, Sarpanch of Hivre-Bazar (Ahmednagar), Maharashtra and an inspiring promoter of the 'Ideal Villages Movement' on "Integrated Agriculture and Rural Development for Tomorrow's Maharashtra" on the occasion of the inauguration of Observer Research Foundation's Maharashtra@50 Study Centre on 24th June 2010.

Shri Popatrao Pawar started his speech by highlighting his background and how he became the sarpanch of the village and his experience of bringing about a gradual change in the village of Hivre Bazar, which originally was facing acute water scarcity. It was through gradual efforts at development focusing on water conservation and sustainable agricultural practices coupled with behavioural and attitudinal changes at the village level that the village was able to deal with the problems of water scarcity and today stands as a model for other villages to follow.

Shri Popatrao Pawar highlighted the current situation of villages in Maharashtra and the disparities within geographical areas in Maharashtra, which are divided into areas where there is heavy rainfall at one end and very scanty rainfall at the other. However, he emphasised that mechanisms for proper utilisation and management of whatever water was available in the villages was lacking, which led to this phenomenon of acute water scarcity, affecting agricultural practices and leading to pauperisation of farmers in the villages.

This has been leading to mass migration of people from villages to cities, uncontrolled growth of cities, diversion of water, electricity to cities and neglect of rural areas in the state. Shri Popatrao Pawar argued that this would have a highly negative impact on the environment and efforts needed to be made on an urgent basis to restore this balance by making attempts at improving and making changes at the village level and changing villages on the lines similar to Hivre Bazar.

Please view part 1 of the film below:

Source: ORF Mumbai

He emphasised the importance of water management that not only involved watershed development, but also focused on preventing people from excessive drawing out of groundwater, which was a common phenomenon in villages in Maharashtra and which could lead to a severe crisis of water in the years to come. He emphasised the importance of developing awareness among the people about ecologically sustainable development and sensitivity to the environment.

The next part of his speech highlighted how he got about making changes in the village of Hivre Bazar and the outcomes of introducing these developmental activities at the village level. He highlighted the links between livelihoods and environmentally sustainable developmental activities, health and quality of life. He emphasised the importance of community motivation and mobilisation and felt that this movement if taken up by other villages in the state could lead to return of a large number of people back to their villages and encourage them to bring about a change in urban rural disparities through making villages self sufficient, independent, solve water scarcity and livelihood issues of villages, help in improve quality of lives and bring about environmentally sustainable development.

Part 2 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Part 3 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Part 4 of the film can be viewed at this link.

Water quality monitoring of lakes in and around Bangalore city - A report by KSPCB (2001)

ashis — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:35:47 +0000

This report by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) both in Kannada and English highlights the deteriorating condition of the lakes in and around Bangalore city and describes the efforts undertaken by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to launch a programme to monitor the water quality of some of the lakes in Bangalore so as to focus the attention of concerned governmental organisations to take up remedial measures to safe guard the water bodies of the "Garden City".

The sources of pollution in lakes are mainly identified as:

Sewage entry from human settlements in catchment area
Effluent entry from the industries located on the upstream of the lakes
Erosion of soils carrying nutrient from the upstream
Ingress of sewage and industrial effluent which contains nutrients
Runoff from surrounding areas which carries with it silt and nutrients
For other human activities such as bathing, washing, disposal of garbage etc
Dumping of debris from construction activity
Draw off of water from the lake
Immersion of idols during some festival

The Karnataka State Pollution Control's Research and Development Wing took up monitoring of lakes/tanks in around Bangalore metropolitan area to know the quality of the water body and also the waste water discharges into the water bodies. 44 lakes/tanks in and around Bangalore metropolitan area out of 60 lakes/tanks were covered in the first phase while around 16 lakes/tanks were monitored in the second phase of the project.

The samples were analysed as described in standard methods for the examination of water and waste-water. The analysis found that urbanisation had produced a long term impact on the lake ecosystem and most of the lakes in Bangalore were found to be contaminated by sewage mixing with lake water. Water hyacinth in many lakes had taken over with thick green crust. The weeds obstructed sunlight and reduced self purification action through photosynthesis. To maintain and prevent deterioration of water bodies, the following rehabilitation measures were proposed:

De-silting
De-weeding
Prevention of sewage and industrial effluents into the lake and construction of suitable effluent treatment plants

The report identified the need for the following organisations to put their efforts in mitigating lake pollution:

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board
Bangalore Development Authority
Bangalore Metropolitan Regional Development Authority
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
Zilla Panchayat
Forest Department

A paper based on this report was presented at the proceedings of Taal 2007: The 12th World Lake Conference and is available at this link.

A copy of the report can be downloaded below :

Attachment	Size
Water quality monitoring of lakes in and around Bangalore city - A report in Kannada and English by KSPCB (2001)	196.97 MB

"It is necessary to move away from a project-based approach towards a holistic perspective": Report of the dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning held from 9 to 11 August 2011 (New Delhi)

aarti — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:05:26 +0000

This three day dialogue workshop on 'Mainstreaming river basin planning' held from 9th to 11th August 2011 in New Delhi intended to bring together activists involved in dam movements and other social and environmental movements, civil society groups, experts in water resources management, environment, river basin planning, officials from all the relevant ministries and departments and others concerned. Selected invitees from South Asian countries were also invited for sharing their views on transboundary issues.

This workshop aimed at:

Having a comprehensive understanding of river basin planning and its critical importance
Evolving or initiating a process to draft blueprint for mainstreaming river basin planning at the national level
Developing an advocacy strategy to mainstream river basin planning issues
Sharing experiences, ideas and concerns with respect to river basin issues
Build a platform of individuals, civil society groups and concerned government agencies to deliberate on the issue
Involving multiple stakeholders in the process of developing a blueprint on river basin planning

DAY 1

Ramaswamy Iyer began the discussion with an overview of river basin planning and also of why it is not easy and might not even be possible in India. Even if one moves away from considering a single cross-section to considering the entire stretch of a river, current techno-centric planning, will still leave a lot to be desired. Natural entities such as glaciers and aquifers have no place in river basin management, which often ends up as planning a number of 'projects' rather than a single project. Similarly, every river basin organisation has within it the seeds of an autocratic, top-down, centralised bureaucracy.

The following talks were delivered in the course of the first day.

Difficulties in adopting the Integrated Water Resource Management and Integrated Basin Planning concepts in India by A.D. Mohile

This presentation highlighted the following topics:

Unity and integrity of water resources
Concept of ‘basin as an unit’, and its limitations
Concept of ‘Integrated Water Resources Management'
Indian water scenario
Efforts, successes and difficulties in Integrated Basin Authorities in India
Climate change related issues
Conceptual, legal, political and limitations

Mohile described the following main limitations of considering river basins as an unit of development:

The need for equitability among the various political units that form part of a basin may compromise IRBM
Basin boundaries might be unclear
Definition of a basin, especially with regard to its common terminus, has now been called into question

Ganga river basin environment management plan by Vinod Tare, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee

The Ganga river basin management plan takes its inspiration from a shloka in the ancient texts that enumerates the qualities of the Ganga. Accordingly, the plan focuses on:

Uninterrupted flow
Unpolluted flow
Longitudinal, lateral and vertical connectivity
Adequate space for various river functions
River as an ecological entity

The strategies adopted by the consortium of IITs, to achieve these goals are detailed in the presentation.

From micro-watershed to river basin: Issues and prospects of up-scaling by K.J. Joy and Suhas Paranjpye

This presentation included:

Understanding watersheds and watershed interventions
Evolution of watershed development polices and programmes in India
Performance of watershed development programmes: Evidence from the field
From micro-watershed to river basin: Way forward

This presentation explores the meaning of up-scaling watershed development to the river basin level. It especially explains the difference between tiling, that is, covering a river basin with a multitude of treated watersheds and nesting, that is, treating a river basin as a single watershed. So far, most interventions have been the former, however nesting is more efficient and also true to the spirit of river basin planning.

DAY 2

Master plan for integrated development & management of water resources of Godavari Basin by D.M. More

The MMWRRA's (Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority) prerequisite to giving clearance to projects is inclusion of the said project in the state water policy. Preparation of a Godavari river basin management plan has been in process for the last two years, and is expected to be completed in the next 1.5 years. During these interim and final stages, the plan is being shared in the various sub-basins through meetings and workshops. This presentation goes through the process of creating the plan, its goals, and the issues covered by it.

Cumulative impacts assessments in river basins by Neeraj Wagholikar

This presentation took the case studies of the Teesta and the Brahmaputra to explore the meaning of 'cumulative impact assessment' and 'river basin planning' as specified by the Supreme Court of India. The discussions cautioned that not starting the process till the definition of every term is finalised, actually negates the process, which is intrinsically one of dialogue, negotiations and iterations.

Some issues for trans-boundary river basin management/planning by Gopal Siwakoti

The main issues when it comes to river basin management are access to information, true participation, environmental management, compensation, rights of local communities and benefit-sharing. These are even more crucial in the case of trans-boundary rivers. This presentation covers the following aspects of management of trans-boundary river basins:

Legal framework
Institutional arrangements
Current scenario of non-cooperation between nations

It is clear that the principles, criteria and framework to ensure trans-boundary cooperation already exist. The main hurdle seems to be the political will for international water management, conservation and sharing. The options in that case, especially the role of non-governmental organizations is discussed.

Pollution management at a basin level by Vishwanath Srikantaiah

This presentation begins with a definition of pollution, and the impact that urban thirst and pollution has on the water sources around it. It is proposed that smarter use of a city's roofs - which receive rainfall, air and sunlight - when combined with responsible sanitation measures like eco-san toilets can mitigate a large number of water and pollution problems and also grow food for the households. Calculations illustrate the amount of water saved by these technologies.

DAY 3

India's tryst with the big dams: The performance and future perspectives of large dams in the river basin context by Himanshu Thakkar

While there is no credible assessment of the desirability of large dams, 66-80% of the water sector is still diverted towards large projects. This presentation speaks of the diminishing returns from large hydro and the reasons why. It questions whether large hydro-power projects deliver the performance expected of them. The effect of these projects on the communities that live along the rivers is also explained.

Are river flows to the sea 'a waste' by Latha Anantha

The oft-repeated premise of water-planners is challenged. The downstream impacts of dams and other river modifications are listed here. A schematic representation of the Chalukudy river course illustrates the extent to which rivers are modified. Strategies and challenges for ensuring environmental flows in rivers are also listed.

Environmental flows and its assessment for upper stretch of river Ganga by Nitin Kaushal

Environmental flows are 'the flows pattern required for the maintenance of the ecological integrity of rivers, their associated ecosystems and the goods & services provided by them'. This presentation details the process and results of an exercise to assess the required flow regime for the upper stretch of the Ganga, using the Building Block Methodology. Charts of the environmental flow regime at each of the three sections are also supplied.

Conclusion

The participants debated at length over the strategies, implications and challenges of river basin planning. It was perceived that the main stumbling block is not a lack of know-how, but a lack of political will. It was also proposed that for river basin planning to wait for a golden moment when all terms are fully understood, all political reservations are put aside for the greater good, and all conflicts are resolved, is an exercise in futility. Instead, civil society should take it upon itself to initiate a transparent sharing of information and honest dialogue which might pave the way for river basin planning to enter mainstream thought.

Download the presentations below:

Attachment	Size
Difficulties in adopting the IWRM and integrated basin planning concepts in India - AD Mohile - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	43.59 KB
Ganga river basin environment management plan - IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	1.56 MB
From micro-watershed to river basin - Issues and prospects of upscaling - KJ Joy and Suhas Paranjpye - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	754.64 KB
Master plan for integrated development & management of water resources of Godavari basin - DM More - Dialogue on river basin planning (2011)	1.22 MB
Cumulative impact assessments in river basins - Neeraj Wagholikar - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	6.33 MB
Some issues for trans-boundary river basin management and planning - Gopal Siwakoti - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	240.38 KB
Pollution management at a basin level - Vishwanath Srikantaiah - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	6.69 MB
India's tryst with the big dams: The performance and future perspectives of large dams in the river basin context - Himanshu Thakkar - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	1.91 MB
Are river flows to the sea a waste ? - A Latha - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	5.93 MB
Environmental flows and its assessment for upper stretch of river Ganga - Nitin Kaushal - Dialogue on mainstreaming river basin planning (2011)	398.95 KB

Community monitoring in water and sanitation projects - A facilitators manual - A PRIA publication

aarti — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:29:22 +0000

This manual published by Society for Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA) aims at creating a basic understanding of the concept, principles and steps of community monitoring. This manual is based on the work that PRIA was involved in that included facilitating the process of social development and monitoring, and for guiding the process of developing models for community monitoring linked to community action, for child survival and development in six project sites in India.

This manual is divided into three key sections:

The first section deals with the conceptual understanding of monitoring and community monitoring and why it is important to involve communities in monitoring the projects

The second section highlights the key steps involved in community monitoring, which also includes experiences generated from facilitating social development monitoring in Dharali village in Uttarkashi district. Each step provides some useful tips for facilitators who wish to aid community monitoring

Step I: Identify key issues and problems or concerns
Step II: Building indicators on the issue identified
Step III: Identify interested actors, their roles in collecting information
Step IV: Develop methods and tools for checking, collection, aggregation and analysis of data
Step V: Help actors take action at the lowest possible level and arrange for actions at other levels

The third section highlights the key principles, which one should keep in mind while facilitating community monitoring

A copy of the manual can be accessed from this link

Global change, wastewater and health in fast growing economies - Paper published in the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability

aarti — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:05:20 +0000

This paper published in the journal Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability draws attention to the serious issue of poor water quality in the developing economies and argues that among the water challenges in the 21st century, the water quality health nexus is one of the most serious challenges that will need to be addressed at an urgent level.The paper directs attention at the rapid and unequal growth and development patterns emerging in developing economies and the impact of this development on the environment and human populations. The paper directs attention to the negative impact of this development on one of the important natural resources such as water and the linkages between water quality and public health of populations.

The paper argues that though it is well known that water and sanitation are important to address major water-related diseases, less known is the impact of continuous exposure to poor water quality on human health in fast growing economies comprising about half of the world’s population. Crucial questions like the whether the economic success of emerging countries gets translated into improved water management and better human health or poses additional risks, and the mode through which population growth, development of agriculture, industrialisation and urbanisation can affect human health in poverty-stricken and undernourished regions continue to remain unanswered.

While there is a growing concern for adequate provision of water supply and sanitation in many of these economies, there is equal concern over addressing wastewater problems generated by peri-urbanisation, which often is ignored by national and international agencies. The term ‘wastewater’ is used to characterise different qualities, ranging from raw to diluted sewage generated from various urban activities. These activities range from domestic, commercial, industrial, stormwater and urban run-off, treated wastewater, reclaimed wastewater, faecal sludge and biosolids. These have contributed to widespread ecological and health problems in and around cities. These health hazards are not necessarily in poor quality drinking water, but due to the daily exposure to polluted water and sewage (skin contact, inhalation and indirect consumption).

The paper argues that scientific research has played a significant role in offering curative approaches, but most of the recommendations remain one-dimensional to find solutions to those diseases hyped by international agencies (like potable water supply and hygiene practices to address diarrhoea, mosquito nets to address malaria). With widespread undernourished population, filthy environment and socio-cultural factors in the developing world, it is important that science goes beyond this stage to examine the linkages among the compounding of pollutants, their quantity and the physiological impact on human health.

This paper calls for scientific and policy initiatives to move beyond this stage to understand the complex links between water and health. In addition, it urges the international community to establish a scientific monitoring and research platform to spearhead the efforts and spread information on improving water quality and human health.

A copy of the paper can be downloaded from below, which has been put up after securing written permission from the author:

Attachment	Size
Global change, wastewater and health in fast growing economies - Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability - Saravanan (2011)	249.66 KB

Groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality in and around Bangalore city - Department of Mines and Geology (2011)

aarti — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:34:50 +0000

This report by the Department of Mines and Geology describes the findings of a study on urban groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality in and around Bangalore city. Earlier studies carried out by the Department of Mines and Geology during 1994, 1995 and 2003 on the groundwater quality of Bangalore Metropolis had found that the groundwater pollution in the city has mainly been due to sewage disposal and recommendations have been made to prevent pollution from sewage and industrial wastes. The supply of the required quantity of water to the population continues to remain a big challenge to the concerned authorities in Bangalore.

The report is divided into three sections:

Part I: Urban groundwater hydrology
Part II: Groundwater quality
Part III: Quality of lake waters

In the current study, over 3000 groundwater samples were collected over an area of 800 sq kms in and around Bangalore city. The study area was divided into four quadrants and each quadrant was made into one sq km grid. Two or three samples were collected from each such grid and analysed in the chemical laboratory at the Directorate of Mines and Geology at Bangalore.

The study found that:

The growth of the city over the last few years, the ever increasing demand for water and deficiency in the public water supply system has developed a heavy strain on the groundwater aquifers of the city
The over draft of ground water has resulted in a steep decline in groundwater level, drying up of unconfined aquifers and mining of groundwater situation in many parts of the city
Total dissolved solids and fluoride content in groundwater on higher side from deeper bore wells are the signals of deterioration of the quality of groundwater
Among 2209 of the groundwater samples analysed, the nitrate content in excess of the desirable/permissible limit is found in 638 samples (29%), iron in 214 samples (10%), total hardness in 185 samples (8.5%) and fluoride in 14 samples (0.6%)
There has been a high presence of heavy metals in groundwater attributable to the infiltration of effluents from the industrial waste disposals, higher content of NO3, low and high values of pH and the presence of e-coli and total coliform bacteria due to discharge of untreated sewage waste into the natural drainage system
The causative factor for groundwater pollution is more anthropogenic than being geologic. Groundwater, once polluted/contaminated is difficult to bring back to the required drinking water standards. The cost of treatment of contaminated water is predicted to be enormous in the city of Bangalore
The best option is to avoid disposal of solid, liquid domestic and industrial waste within the city premises
As per IS 2003 drinking water specification, 31% of the city groundwater is non potable as against 50% found in the previous study conducted in 2003. This has been due to the remedial measures implemented earlier to prevent groundwater pollution
Top priority needs to be given to conservation of rainwater through appropriate rainwater harvesting measures
Creation of greater awareness among the public towards economical social and health implications of pollution of water resources and judicious use of available potable water resources is the need of the hour

A copy of the report can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Groundwater hydrology and groundwater quality in and around Bangalore city - DMG - GoK (2011)	77.51 MB

Dynamic groundwater resources of Karnataka (2009) - Report by Department of Mines and Geology and Central Groundwater Board

aarti — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:35:51 +0000

This report by the Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Karnataka and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Southwestern Region provides information on groundwater resource available and the status of utilisation of groundwater in Karnataka as on March 2009, both on watershed (sub catchment) and taluk wise areas having 2008-2009 as the base year. The methodology is improved as the estimations are carried out on watershed basis for both command and non command separately than apportioned to taluks.

The report can be very useful for planning, decision making, implementation of minor irrigation schemes, financing well schemes. The report is helpful to concentrate on such areas where immediate protective measures are to be taken to conserve irrigation and drinking water supply in order to sustain groundwater resource.

The report is divided into the following sections:

Introduction
Hydro geological features
Groundwater estimation methodology
Estimation of groundwater resources
Computation of groundwater resources
References
Annexures

The estimate reveals that 35 taluks are over exploited, 3 taluks are critical, 10 taluks are semi critical, 70 taluks are safe and 58 taluks have different (mixed) stage of development. According to the situation in 2004, 22 taluks were over exploited, 51 taluks safe and 102 taluks have mixed stage of development.

The report reveals that there has been a reduction in utilisation of ground water from 70% to 68% , which can be seen in improved status of Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bangalore rural districts. This can be attributed to better cropping, irrigation methodology and construction of water conservation structures in the area. Addition of new command areas under the Hemavathy and upper Krishna projects have also contributed significantly to enhancement of groundwater resource.

Comparison of the groundwater assessment of 2004 and 2009 indicates that more number of taluks need appropriate attention as the aquifer system in these areas are affected by steep decline of groundwater levels and the resource.The report concludes that regulatory methods need to be urgently initiated keeping in mind this situation and a regulatory authority be set up through appropriate legislation.

A copy of the report can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Dynamic groundwater resources of Karnataka as of March 2009 - DMG - GoK - CGWBSWR (2010)	95.44 MB

Democratisation of water management - The experience of Tamil Nadu with governance reforms

aarti — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 06:48:04 +0000

Through these three papers, the authors argue that the solutions to the global water crisis do not lie in investing more and more money into the water sector or in the introduction of better technology. Nor is the introduction of the private sector and the reduction in the role of the government going to help. Rather, the time has come to introduce changes at the basic or the fundamental level in the way in which the water sector functions.

There is an urgent need to bring about reforms in governance by moving towards decentralisation and democratisation, leading to involvement of people from all the sections of the society, who know and understand that they are responsible for the system and its functioning, as well as by introducing principles of equity and social justice. The papers demonstrate the successful implementation of this approach by describing the experience of Tamil Nadu at democratising water management through introduction of reforms at the level of governance, through involvement of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD).

Establishing a paradigm shift in the water sector - The Tamil Nadu experiment with governance reform

This paper prepared for a seminar on ‘Reforming public utilities to meet the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal’ at the UK’s Department for International Development, 4 July 2006, organised by the World Development Movement and Water Aid, argues that the solution to the global water crisis is not in increasing investment or introducing better technology, but in improving water governance. However, approaches continue to focus more on bringing in the private sector, while at the same time trying to curtail the role of the government.

The addition of newer policy prescriptions, sometimes described as paradigm shifts, do not get much attention. Ideas include greater community participation through an increased sense of ownership and participation by intended beneficiaries or 'consumers'; a shift from supply driven to demand responsive functioning; a shift in the role of government functionaries from being 'providers' to 'facilitators'; and moving towards greater decentralisation in water supply function while acknowledging the necessity of raising investments to ensure water supply.

The need to introduce reforms within existing governmental structures

The paper stresses that the solution to the water crisis can be found only by breaking out of the stereotypical frameworks adopted until now. A much more cost effective, but important solution would be to initiate comprehensive governance reform within the water sector. The paper highlights one such effort to fill this gap in water governance reform, initiated in the rural water supply division of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

The paper informs that, at the end of two years since the introduction of a new paradigm or perspective of functioning, much has been achieved, but much more needs to be done. Future interventions seeking to address the water crisis cannot and should not follow the time worn, stereotyped, and jaded way of seeking and pumping in new investments of money and technology while continuing to ignore the more pressing issue of reforming water governance.

However, the paper warns that issue of governance is also political as it concerns dealing with issues of power, authority and money. Greater transparency, openness and democratic functioning can threaten power elites, inside and outside government officials, planners, politicians and consultants.

The need to pressurise governments and pay attention to equity and social justice

However, the paper argues that the work in Tamil Nadu shows that investing in governance reform is hugely cost effective and the training costs are pitifully low compared to the cost of investing in technological options. Thus, when solutions are sought to be found from within, be it within the culture and practice of the water utility, or from within the traditional and cultural practices of communities, new bonds of relating are forged.

The paper ends by reminding that, bonds are based on the intuitive and learned genius of the land and are the only medium through which the change process can get anchored and grow. This then, should be the thrust for international agencies, to persuade, and if persuasion does not work, to pressurise governments to initiate measures to bring about greater attention to the three legs of the new paradigm:

Reaching the unreached
Equity
Sustainability

Democratisation of water management as a way to reclaiming public water

This paper describes the process through which reforms in the governance led to a gradual change in the water situation in the state of Tamil Nadu. The public water utility in the state realised that a growing water crisis had to be addressed very differently from previous reform strategies and that 'democratising’ water management required attitudinal changes by both water engineers and the community. In this change process, public officials and citizens worked as partners and not only succeeded in ensuring equitable water supply for all, but also in conserving natural resources and ensuring sustainable water management.

The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (popularly referred to as TWAD) is the sole governmental agency with a mandate to supply water to the entire state of Tamil Nadu, barring Chennai city. In early 2004, TWAD had to deal with a severe water shortage that resulted from continuous drought and devastated ground water tables due to years of unregulated ground water extraction and lack of conservation of water sources.

Realisation of the need for change

Water engineers realised that this growing crisis required drastic solutions, starting with themselves and slowly including the community. No change was possible unless there was consensus within TWAD to accept change. There was also a growing realisation that the engineers needed to assess their own role in the water crisis. They needed to assess their strengths and weaknesses and explore what prevented true partnerships from being built with the community. Equally pressing was the importance of working with the community to address attitude and perspective changes within larger civil society so that communities would be able to shoulder greater responsibilities in controlling and managing water systems.

This led to the change process of 'Democratisation of Water Management’ , which aimed at:

Reaching the unreached
In a manner ensuring equity (with equitable distribution as an immediate focus)
Founded on principles of social justice.

The democratisation process

The democratisation process had three stages: The first covered all the TWAD officials, from the most senior to the latest engineer, who had to undergo training in small batches. In the second stage, water engineers would work to sensitise the community to the importance of finding solutions together for the water crisis including in taking responsibility for safeguarding water.

In the third stage, the water engineers and the community would launch water projects based on principles of:

Optimal utilisation
While ensuring conservation of natural resources
Sustainability of schemes
Local self management.

The measures included self regulation of consumption, taking responsibility for managing water schemes, consensus on choice of technology and cost of schemes, recovery of water charges and decision on water charges and other issues based on consensus and democratic participation.

Outcome of the process

The most important outcome of the democratisation experiment was the breaking down of numerous stereotypes and myths about government systems, public officials, politicians and the poor. The most powerful myth that was shattered was that people, especially the poor people, wanted only `free schemes’ and would not take care of their assets and resources.

In numerous villages, it has now been conclusively demonstrated that communities are willing to take charge of their own water schemes and also ensure that there is fair and equitable distribution. The new work ethic, which is slowly being adopted by the water engineers shows the ability of public officials to respond to changed situations by placing a premium on transparency, accountability and responsibility.

Solution for the water crisis – Democratisation, not privatisation -The case of Palangarai village

This paper describes the case of how improvement in governance structures led to a drastic change in the situation of Palangarai village of Avinashi taluka in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu in South India. Palangarai village had continued to face acute water crisis and on the best of days, had a water supply of 10 litres per person per day, which was once in a week during the dry months. Ground water was at a depth of over 1200 feet and there was no water in the wells. Illegal tapping of water by powerful villagers was the norm and arrears in tax payments was the practice.

The grim water situation posed a tough challenge to finding solutions to the water crisis. Water storage had to be augmented to raise water table; vegetation and tree cover needed to be increased to help retain rain water; illegal taps had to be removed; water distribution had to ensure equitable supply to all sections, especially the poorer and traditionally marginalised sections; the community needed to be mobilised to participate and own the changed water system.

Implementation of the democratisation process in the village

In August 2004, the Palangarai villagers decided to launch an ambitious programme aimed at changing the face of the water system in their village. Over a period of a year, they held scores of meetings involving all social sections, from children to youth to the elderly in the village explaining in simple terms the importance of full participation in measures to solve the water problem.

With the help of the water engineers of the state run water agency, Tamil Nadu Water Supplies and Drainage Board (popularly known as TWAD) who provided technical knowhow and knowledge inputs, the villagers created 32 water storage structures by a process of deepening, repairing and constructing new check dams. Over 7,000 tree saplings were planted by children, in their names and in the names of their pets and grand parents, with a survival rate of over 85% at the end of the first year.

Encroachments in water storage areas like water tanks, ponds and channels were removed by forging collective consensus. Illegal tapping of water was stopped. Timely distribution of water, ensuring quality and prompt response to water distribution related complaints generated confidence amongst the populace.

Outcomes of the democratisation process

The well planned efforts bore fruit within a year. By the end of 2006, the monsoon water table had risen by 400 feet, from 1200 feet to 800 feet. Increase in plant and tree cover magically attracted birds resulting in changes in the biological profile. Transparency and improved water distribution improved satisfaction and the village recorded 100 % collection of annual taxes.

Palangarai was one of 153 village Panchayats in 29 of the 30 districts of Tamil Nadu state in south India where a unique process called 'Democratisation of Water Management’ had been launched by the TWAD Board. The TWAD democratisation experiment thus demonstrated that focusing on governance reform, rather than by increasing technology or financial investments could be one of the important solutions to deal with the water challenges in the country.

The three papers can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Democratisation of water management - Establishing a paradigm shift in the water sector - The Tamil Nadu experiment with governance reform (2006)	98.78 KB
Democratisation of water management as a way to reclaiming public water - TheTamil Nadu experience - V Suresh - Pradip Prabhu (2007)	272.41 KB
Solution for the water crisis - Democratisation not privatisation - Promising stories from Tamil Nadu (India) - V Suresh (2007)	28.24 KB

Fluoride in groundwater - Overview and evaluation of removal methods - A report by IGRAC

aarti — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:11:17 +0000

In this report published by International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, information is given about methods for the removal of fluoride from groundwater. The methods can be used by domestic well owners as well as communal water suppliers. The report is divided into the following chapters:

1. Introduction

Special projects of IGRAC
Occurrence of fluoride
Outline of the report

2. Overview of removal methods

Common methods
New technologies

3. Setup, scale of use and location

4. Evaluation

5. Selection

References

Appendix 1

Figures

Tables

A copy of the report can be accessed from here

Life, livelihoods, ecosystems, culture: Entitlements and allocation of water for competing uses – A report by the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India

amitabhaduri — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:40:27 +0000

This report has been prepared by the members of the working group set up by the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India on the issue of “Entitlements and allocations for livelihoods and ecosystem needs". The introductory chapter sets out the context of the report. The immediate context is the work of the Forum over the last 4-5 years, and the learning that this particular issue leads to many water conflicts in India.

The broader context is the water sector 'crisis', and problems such as declining water availability and unsustainable and inequitable use of water, along with ongoing changes that are taking place in the water sector. These changes include, among other things, institutional changes (such as the setting up of regulatory authorities), the introduction of water entitlements and tradable rights, an emphasis on the pricing of water, and a continuing clamour for large-scale infrastructure projects. The kind of implications that these changes would have for different aspects of a right to water are then briefly indicated.

The rest of the report discusses in greater detail each of the four sets of needs - basic, livelihood, environmental, and socio-cultural - that should, ideally, be part of any conceptualisation of a right to water. The effort in each case is towards bringing out the complexities involved, rather than coming up with a single, 'technical' definition of the need in question, or suggesting a one size fits all solution.

Chapter 2 talks about the right to water for basic needs in terms of different dimensions such as quantity, quality, affordability, accessibility, the unit at which provision is made and also the conditions for such provision, institutional mechanisms for delivery, and pricing. In terms of the controversial questions of delivery and pricing, it is argued that whatever be the mode of delivery, certain non-negotiables must be clearly laid down, even if these preclude many kinds of private sector participation. Care must also be taken to avoid using the instrument of pricing to meet goals that it is not best suited to meet. A tentative model of provision of water for basic needs is then outlined.

Chapter 3 discusses the importance of taking ecosystem needs into account in the planning for development and management of water resources, pointing out how inter-basin diversion, indiscriminate sand mining, and other interventions adversely affect ecosystems. However, interpreting environmental flows or ecosystem needs is not easy, especially given the fact that it is not only the amount, but also the timing, quantity, quality, and duration of flows that are important from an ecosystem perspective. Nor is it obvious that 'apportioning' or 'allowing' water to be left in the ecosystem is the correct approach; in addition, there is a view that environmental water requirements should include both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Hence, methodologies appropriate to the Indian context need to be carefully chosen.

Chapter 4 brings out some key questions related to water for livelihood needs and explores areas where there could be convergence across different uses. The importance of thinking of livelihoods not just in terms of food security or meeting of basic needs, but in terms of a life with dignity for the family is stressed. However, determining the basic requirements of a person/family to ensure a reasonable living and a life with dignity, as well as the level of various livelihoods that would ensure that these requirements are met, is not an easy task. Certain guiding principles are then offered in the case of both agricultural and non-agricultural occupations.

Chapter 5 briefly discusses the right to water for socio-cultural needs. Broadly, these can be defined as water required to maintain a certain way of life that is inclusive of the cultural traditions, social values, and practices of particular communities. Recognizing socio-cultural needs as a separate category is important because they draw attention to the multi-faceted nature of water; play a role in the preservation of cultural identity; and often involve knowledge systems with very different kinds of epistemological bases than that of the dominant development paradigms. Although socio-cultural needs are difficult to quantify, some general principles could be laid down.

Chapter 6, the concluding chapter, drawing from the previous chapters brings out the critical issues that cut across all the different uses. The issues this chapter discusses include prioritization of different water uses, right to water and equity, mode of service delivery, water pricing, environmental flows and water for industries.

The report argues for a framework law which sets out the principles that are binding on both the policy and legal processes. Such a framework law needs to take into account: 1) the biophysical and social characteristics of water, 2) a right based discourse (the right to water should include on the minimum a) potable water of adequate quantity for all, water for livelihoods, minimum environmental flows, and b) only after meeting these needs can water be made available for commercial use), 3) the legal framework must take as its starting point an articulated hierarchy of these rights; and 4) an institutional mechanism to ground it.

Download the report here -

Image courtesy: www.waterwarsmedia.wordpress.com

Attachment	Size
Life, livelihoods, ecosystems, culture: Entitlements and allocation of water for competing uses – A report by the Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India (2011)	1.96 MB

Ajunhi kordech aad (The wells are still dry) - An article in marathi - Anubhav magazine

aarti — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 06:23:45 +0000

A large part of the state of Maharashtra continues to face acute scarcity of water due to scanty rainfall, which has had a serious impact on the livelihoods of people who live in these areas. This article "Ajuni Kordech Aad" meaning "The wells are still dry" published in the magazine Anubhav highlights the extreme hardships, lack of employment opportunities, forced migration due to negative impact on agriculture and livestocks, and poverty and deprivation that people living in these areas have to face due to this water scarcity.

The article argues that this lack of water not only affects agriculture and livelihoods, but also has an impact on education, health and welfare of the people in these areas. The article is highly critical of the apathy and neglect shown at the policy level to these areas and draws contrasts between the unequal development in these regions and nearby cities such as Pune and Mumbai, which continue to have large supplies of water diverted to its people.The article presents cases of the poorly managed governmental programmes for water management at the village level and also highlights some of the positive initiatives taken up at the village level by the people.

The article ends by questioning the very direction of development in the state and argues that this development that is unequal, based on the needs of a selected few, while at the time time neglecting the basic food, water and livelihood needs of people from the rural areas, would not be sustainable in the long run. This development model can lead to serious consequences for the state due to increasing poverty, deprivation and migration, can have a negative impact on the well being and quality of life of certain sections of the population, besides negatively impacting the agricultural sector in the future.

A copy of the entire article can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Ajunhi koradech aad -The wells are still dry - Anubhav (2009)	13.35 MB

Groundwater bill - Andhra Pradesh - Third draft (2010)

aarti — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 12:34:41 +0000

This document includes the third draft of the Groundwater Bill for Andhra Pradesh and is divided into the following chapters:

Chapter 1: Short title, extent and commencement of the Act
Chapter 2: GramPanchayat groundwater councils and their functions
Chapter 3: District Groundwater Councils
Chapter 4: State Groundwater Council
Chapter 5: Groundwater Protection Measures
Chapter 6: Offences and Penalties
Chapter 7: Appeals
Chapter 8: Miscellaneous

A copy of the entire document can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Groundwater Bill - Third draft - Andhra Pradesh (2010)	71.32 KB

Hue and cry for drinking water - Major struggle for nature’s call - A study by Udayvani and Arghyam

aarti — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:02:10 +0000

This study by Udayvani and Arghyam describes the findings of case studies undertaken by Udaywani to get a clear picture of the drinking water and toilet facilities in 8 Gram Panchayats of the 6 Districts of Karnataka following the ASHWAS survey conducted by Arghyam that included a survey of Household Water and Sanitation in 172 Gram Panchayats across 28 districts of Karnataka (all except Bangalore Urban).

The findings of the survey were presented before the Government and also put forth before the 172 Gram Panchayats. Arghyam, through its NGO partners, facilitated discussions in the GPs to help them arrive at action steps to address issues emerging from the survey. Given this background, Udayavani had come forward to have a look at these Gram Panchayats closely. To get a clear picture of the drinking water and toilet facility in Karnataka, Udayavani visited 8 Gram Panchayats of the 6 Districts of Karnataka.

Udayvani visited the following Gram Panchayats for the study: Gama from Shikaripura Taluka and Kolur from Sagar Taluka of Shimoga District; Kodigehalli from Kunigal Taluka and Nagavalli from Tumkur Taluka of Tumkur District; Hinkal from Mysore Taluka, Mysore District, Bharatipur Cross from K.R. Pet of Mandya District; Ravoor from Chittapur Taluka of Gulbarga District and Raibag from Raibag Taluka of Belgaum District.

This report describes three case studies namely:

Case study 1 : Understanding differences in performance levels of GPs in the drinking water and sanitation sector
Case study 2: Governance – Officials and Elected Representatives make a critical difference- Cases from different GPs visited
Case study 3: Views on the ASHWAS Report & problems faced by GPs

A copy of the report can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Hue and cry for drinking water - Major struggle for nature’s call - Arghyam - Udayavani (2009)	512.9 KB

Politicians for reform - Proceedings of the State Water Ministers’ workshop on rural water supply policy reforms in India - Cochin (Kerala) - (1999)

aarti — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:31:09 +0000

This report by the Water and Sanitation Program provides the details of the proceedings of the workshop on rural water supply policy reforms in India held at Cochin, Kerala from December 7th to December 8th, 1999. The workshop was hosted by Government of Kerala and the Water and Sanitation Program, South Asia with the Government of India, The World Bank Institute and the World Bank.

Sixty-five delegates from 14 States, including 11 State Ministers, senior civil servants from the Government of India and State Governments, NGOs and External Support Agencies participated in the workshop.The primary objective of the workshop was to build consensus on how to implement the policy reforms laid out by the Government of India and participants were encouraged to apply the reforms to their own States.

The objectives of the workshop included:

To initiate a dialogue with key decision-makers on policy reforms in rural water supply
To sensitize participants to the reasons for policy reform, and the consequences of not reforming, by sharing experiences of successful initiatives in India and of policy reforms in other countries
To understand the political perspective in the rural water supply sector and try to move towards consensus on issues
To give the rural water supply sector a higher profile in both the Government of India and the State Governments

The workshop started with an inauguration ceremony, which was followed by a group exercise that was conducted to elicit the perceptions of the different stakeholders groups on some of the issues facing the water sector. The sessions included:

State of rural water in India: The objective of this session was to get a snapshot of the perceptions of various stakeholder groups of the rural water supply situation in India and compare these to “reality”.
Best practices in the sector: Lessons from international experiences in rural water supply were shared during this session
Action steps for reform: After building consensus on the state of the water sector in India, and learning lessons from best practice, workshop participants resolved to tackle the most challenging aspect of reform: developing action steps for rural water supply policy reforms. Group discussion led to a joint participatory authoring of the Cochin Declaration

Action steps proposed by the participants included involving communities, especially women, in decision-making and project implementation, promoting costsharing between users and the Government and decentralizing project implementation to village water committees and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The workshop culminated in the endorsement of the Cochin Declaration. The declaration lays down key reform principles and sets out strate-gic actions by which these principles can be implemented. The workshop built consensus at an unprecedented political level on ways to forward the reform process.

A copy of the report can be accessed from here

Demonstration cum dissemination of the feasibility of KAF (Kanchan Arsenic Filter) in Assam - A workshop report - IGSSS and Welthungerhilfe (26th July 2011)

aarti — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:56:27 +0000

This document is a report of the workshop organised by Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS) and Welthungerhilfe on the demonstration cum dissemination of the feasibility of KAF (Kanchan Arsenic Filter) in Assam. The workshop aimed at possible replication and acceptability of KAF as a viable, low cost appropriate arsenic mitigation measure in the arsenic contaminated regions of the country.

The concentration of arsenic in groundwater exceeds the permissible level (50 mg/l based on water consumption of 2 litre per day, WHO) in parts of Assam (20 districts out of 24 districts tested) Tripura (3 districts out of 4 districts), Arunachal Pradesh (6 districts out of 13 districts), Nagaland (2 districts out of 8 districts) and Manipur (1 district out of 9 districts). The IGSSS is already doing a project in Assam (North Lakhimpur) to reduce the arsenic content and to monitor the potable quality of water.

To address the arsenic and iron contamination, IGSSS has taken initiatives such as advocating and provision of technical support of low cost affordable household level arsenic filter “Kanchan TM Arsenic Filter (KAF)” and community capacity building on Water Quality Monitoring and Management through a field unit at Lakhimpur, Assam.

IGSSS currently has a full team equipped with the water quality technology based at its field unit at Lakhimpur, Assam. With the timely support of Welthungerhilfe (WHH) the follow up of ECHO Flood Rehabilitation project in Assam, IGSSS is promoting and demonstration KAF and Bio-sand filter in 60 villages of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district of Assam.This technology has been appreciated by targeted users, local administration, Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) and also by NGOs and INGOs such as Catholic Relief Services/NE Office, DanChurchAid South Asia office, Oxfam India etc.

The workshop was attended by technical experts and officials from WaterAid, ECHO, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), DanChurchAid (DCA), Welthungerhilfe, Development Alternative (DA), Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), AFPRO, Caritas India, representative from German Embassy, Megh Pyne Abhiyan etc.

The workshop included the following sessions:

Session 1: Included a welcome address and introduction to the background of the workshop by Dr. Joseph Sebastian, Executive Director, IGSSS, New Delhi
Presentation 1: Pilot project of IGSSS-WHH by Mangneo Lhungdim, IGSSS
Presentation 2: KanchanTM Arsenic Filter (KAF)-Research and Promotion in Nepal by Bipin, ENPHO
Presentation 3:Arsenic Mitigation in Assam by AB Paul

The presentations were followed by a technical discussion and response from technical experts.

The details of the workshop and the note by IGSSS on the arsenic mitigation intiative undertaken in Assam can be downloaded from below:

Attachment	Size
Report on the demonstration cum dissemination of the feasibility of KAF (Kanchan Arsenic Filter) in Assam - IGSSS - Wilthungerhilfe (2011)	192.88 KB
A note on Arsenic mitigation in Assam - IGSSS - Welthungerhilfe (2011)	435.82 KB