From David Foster, Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad
Posted 7 May 2009
The quality of service in urban water supply in most Indian cities remains low, notwithstanding high subsidies and major investments in this sector. Leakage rates are high, most of the poor are not even connected to the water lines, and the rate of water borne disease is among the highest in the world. Furthermore, despite high subsidies, when coping costs are included (household pumps, storage, and treatment, as well as lost time), the real cost to the consumer for this water is often higher than in other Asian countries that offer significantly better service.
To overcome these problems many organizations have sought to increase the water supply available through water tankers and public stand posts. Others have focused on Point of Use (POU) in-home treatment systems or sought to develop self-sustaining water kiosk systems where residents can purchase 10 liter containers of water at a nominal price.
The discussion process
The pros and cons of a 24/7 water supply were discussed at the Water Community’s Annual Forum held on 23-25 July 2008 (for more details please visit http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/resource/annual_forum_2008.pdf) and it was felt that the discussion should be taken up by the community. The rich debates on the other issues have already covered the following topics:
- “24/7 water supply requires too much water, encourages waste and would not be sustainable for most Indian cities.” (You can read the interim summary at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/res-16020901.doc)
- “24/7 water is too expensive for India. The poor can’t afford it and the rich don’t need it.” (You can read the interim summary at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/res-12030901.doc)
- “24/7 Water is Inequitable and Unfair to the poor.” (You can read the interim summary at http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/environment/cr/res-27030901.doc)
We are now moving onto the fourth topic. We look forward to your inputs.
Issue # 4: “Is 24/7 Water Supply Critical to Protecting Water Quality and Public Health?”
Background: Rationing limited water resources by hours per day has long been attempted by cities throughout the world as a means of providing equitable allocation to both the rich and poor in urban areas. This approach, however, does not take into account the fact that higher income people have far more capacity to cope with intermittent supply in terms of in-home storage, pumping and treatment. Further, as households cope with limited supplies by installing suction pumps, this creates negative pressure within the water mains and draws in contaminated surface water and raw sewage through the myriad leaks in the water mains. As a consequence, even water that has been thoroughly treated at the municipal treatment plant will become contaminated during distribution. Finally, water stored in home containers is often subject to further contamination by vermin and improper handling.
Against this background, I request Community members to share their inputs on the following questions:
- What water quality and health effects are most commonly associated with intermittent water supply and who suffers the most?
- If local water boards properly treat water before sending it through the distribution system, why does that water become unsafe to drink?
- If there is water in the mains for only 4 hours per day, what is most likely in those same water mains during the remaining 20 hours of the day?
The results of this discussion will feed into the on-going policy debate at the Administrative Staff College of India and help us to develop a framework on continuously pressurized water supply for cities.
Please see attachment below for the responses.