Are we having enough drinking water?

This one particular question is all the arise in my mind. Do we have enough water to drink? We know we have maximum sea water. There is so much drinking water problem. About half of India is facing a drinking water crisis.

According to the Niti Aayog's Composite Water Management Index (CWMI), Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Hyderabad are among the most susceptible. The government has created a new Jal Shakti ministry to deal with drinking water crisis.

"Water is the soul of the Earth".

(Image Source:- Google image)

But why a water-excess country is facing drinking water crisis today?

• Excessive use of groundwater

India is the biggest user of groundwater. It extracts more groundwater than China and the US the next two biggest pullers of groundwater - combined. Groundwater meets more than half of total requirement of clean water in the country.

According to another study by a team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, and Athabasca University of Canada, Indians use an estimated 230 km3 of groundwater per year - over a quarter of the global total.

Based on their study of 3,907 wells across states, they found that northern India lost more groundwater than eastern parts during 2005-13 (8.5 km3/year to 5 km3/year).

• Wastage of water

India has been also poor in treatment and re-use of household wastewater. About 80 per cent of the water reaching households in India are drained out as waste flow through sewage to pollute other water bodies including rivers and also land.

(Image Source:- Google image)

• Unequal distribution and availability

It is estimated that while 81 per cent of all households have access to 40 litres of water per day through some source, about 18 to 20 per cent of rural households in India have connections for piped water supply. This has created mismatch in water availability and supply.

It will have another challenge, however, to plug leakage of piped water in urban areas. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of piped water in India is lost to leakage.

• And, finally, loss of wetlands, water bodies

Almost every single city and village in the country has lost its wetlands, water bodies and even rivers to encroachment to meet the needs of rising population.

Chennai that is facing acute water shortage had nearly two dozen water bodies and wetlands but most of them are out of use today. A recent assessment found that only nine of them could be reclaimed as water bodies.

There are some reasons behind drinking water crises. Hope we all change this scenario and make the environment smile again and improve the water level.