The Hindu : Kerala News : Need for optimum utilisation of water resources

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 28, 2006

Kerala

Kerala

Need for optimum utilisation of water resources

Many parts of Kerala are facing acute drinking water shortage. The Achuthanandan Government has lost no time in addressing the problem: it has put a Minister each in charge of tackling the situation in the districts. On another level, what should people do to supplement the efforts and, in the longer term, to improve the outlook? Our readers respond:

BEARING THE BRUNT: People carrying pots to fetch water for daily use.

Shortage of water

Shortage of water is a common problem in Thiruvananthapuram city. Most of the areas in the district also face the problem. A few tube-wells should be dug so as to meet the demand of the residents of an area. Watering of plants in gardens should strictly be disallowed during the morning hours. Water meters should be installed in all houses to stop wasteful use of water. All these steps, taken together, can go a long way in improving water supply.

Veena Mohanan

Thiruvananthapuram

Check misuse

Within half a century, the whole world is going to face severe drinking water shortage owing to mismanagement of water and dying rivers and lakes. Our State too is facing acute freshwater shortage. This is a man-made problem, so it can be resolved if the people use water more judiciously in the coming years.

On the Government's part, projects such as rainwater harvesting, watershed development, and control on sand-mining are pragmatic ones. It must ensure that these projects are properly implemented and the effect reaches the people.

Even if the Government implements these projects, the success in tackling the problems depends on the people. They should realise that if they go on misusing water, all freshwater sources will get depleted. Therefore, efforts should be made to conserve water.

Rainwater harvesting is a simple and economical process through which the common man can save water.

People in the State should take it up as we get a good amount of rainfall every year. Our lakes are getting increasingly polluted and some are being converted into plots for construction. We should make efforts to put an end to such practices.

The Government should revoke the licences of all multinational soft drink companies who exploit our groundwater resources.

R. Akhil Ratheesh

Thiruvananthapuram

Protect swamps, fields

To a large extent, water scarcity is man-made. What really is happening is gross mismanagement of existing water resources.

Protection of swamps, paddy fields and forests plays an important role in the conservation of groundwater resources. Swamps and fields are excellent natural floodwater buffers, but unfortunately they are being filled up without any thought to the consequences. Swamps and fields are actually storehouses of water.

The water that collects in the swamps and paddy fields slowly percolates down, thereby maintaining the groundwater level. Now, what is happening is that they are being filled up to make way for residential plots. The excess rainwater, therefore, leads to waterlogging or is pumped out into drains to join rivers, finally flowing out into the sea.

A lot has been said about rainwater harvesting. Individual households with five or six cents of land have only a limited role to play in this type of conservation. Panchayats and municipalities can take up rainwater harvesting in a much effective manner.

Water from all surfaces run offs, and areas prone to flooding can be diverted into common ponds or lakes by construction of drains or pump houses at crucial points. All water bodies within the panchayat or municipality areas should be maintained and protected for this purpose.

Our forest cover has depleted to such an extent that there is not sufficient moisture to aid cloud formation.

So, it is very important to protect the forest cover in the Western Ghats so that we get sufficient rain.

Sathyan

Thiruvallam

New technology

Minister for Water Resources N.K. Premachandran has said that the Government will soon come out with a water policy that will include a comprehensive water management programme.

Meanwhile, awareness should be created among people on avoiding wastage and also utilisation of wastewater. Rainwater harvesting should be given priority. It can be made part of building design itself. Wells and ponds should be maintained properly.

The topography should not come in the way of allowing rainwater to percolate down to the ground.

Besides traditional methods, technology should also be used to conserve it. Water pollution should be avoided for the sake of good health.

A. Jacob Sahayam

Thiruvananthapuram

Start conservation

Supply of drinking water by means of lorries and other carriers should be made in all areas facing water shortage. In such areas, common wells should be dug at locations where the water table is high.

As in cities, pipelines carrying water from big tanks and reservoirs to each household should be laid in villages too.

The public should take the initiative for rainwater harvesting and other water conservation activities in order to address the impending water crisis.

Mohammed Riyaz A

Thiruvananthapuram

Use water sparingly

Everyone should learn to conserve water and use it sparingly. To prevent its loss, all public taps must be checked at frequent intervals by panchayats/munciplities/corporations and all defective taps should be replaced. The people should report public taps that leak to the authorities.

The panchayat/municipality/corporation must obtain an estimate of the quantity of water required for new constructions and the party concerned should be charged for using the water from a public well/tap.

Borewell construction must be controlled. In areas where there is plenty of underground water, some leniency should be shown.

But wherever there is water shortage, strict control should be imposed.

If a nominal fee is levied for the quantity of water used, then wastage will be automatically controlled. For levy of fee, meters should be installed to determine the quantity of water used. Rainwater harvesting should be adopted by all.

P.M.G. Pillai

Thiruvalla

Water table

Many parts of the State are facing acute shortage of drinking water. It is an irony since we are blessed with many water resources.

We have 44 rivers, not to mention the backwaters, both saline and freshwater.

The public can do a lot of things to address the problem. Groundwater, once in abundance, has shown signs of decreasing.

We can enhance it by checking constructions. A green cover will increase the porosity of the soil, allowing water to percolate down. Rainwater harvesting is yet another area we can concentrate on. We can reduce unnecessary wastage of water. We should promptly report leakage of pipes to the authorities and ensure that productive action is taken. We cannot create water but we can conserve it.

Anjana Nair

By email

Adopt new strategy

The State receives above-average annual rainfall during the monsoons. Optimum use of this rainfall will make our water sources sustainable. But the strategy adopted for rainwater harvesting during the past few years, based on rain pits and roof-water harvesting, may not produce the desired results. Instead, we need to develop specific recharge plans for each watershed, based on detailed studies. On the implementation front, rainwater-harvesting activities shall be integrated with agriculture and other social activities. This will result in a rise in water table in the watershed, ensuring higher water levels in wells.

Quick results may not be felt in the vicinity of the site where recharge measures are adopted. So, there is a possibility of resistance from sections of the local community. Here, the role of local self-governments and elected representatives becomes crucial. In public water supply systems, source sustainability measures should be included in the design stage itself. In most of the existing schemes, there is no source protection component. Source protection, including check-dams and recharge measures, can be integrated into the scheme after a proper study of the watershed feeding the source and contour of the area.

Byju V

Thiruvananthapuram

Rainwater harvesting

The people have an important role to play in solving the problem of water shortage. Rainwater harvesting is one inexpensive way of achieving the objective. We get sufficient rain every year but it is not utilised properly. If the rainwater is stored and preserved properly, the shortage can be solved to a great extent.

P. Achuthan

Thiruvananthapuram

Multi-pronged stand

The acute water shortage being experienced now should be addressed in a multi-pronged manner. We are paying a heavy price for the callous treatment of our resources and uncontrolled sand-mining, depleting the water table and disregarding the warnings issued by experts in the field.

The abundance of water resources seems to have made us lazy in evolving steps to preserve them. The unabated pollution levels in the available sources have made matters worse. Most of the policies framed by the Governments have become defunct.

Sand-mining should be minimised and alternative methods for construction should be adopted. Ponds and wells should be cleaned up so that water can be collected during the monsoon. Rainwater harvesting and planting of more trees will improve water availability during the lean period. School curriculum should be revised to include topics on water management and preservation of resources.

Sanju S

Thiruvananthapuram

Every drop counts

To augment the steps taken by the Government, we should use water judiciously, prevent any wastage and avoid extravagance. We should install rainwater harvesting sumps and flow mechanisms to store water for future use. Regular maintenance of all pipes in our houses should be done and pipes with leaks should be repaired.

Manoj and Clomy

Thiruvananthapuram

Create awareness

The importance of water will never be felt by human beings until it becomes a marketable commodity like oil or petrol. Water is precious and has no substitute. It is finite and dwindling.

Knowingly or unknowingly, we waste a lot of water without any thought for the millions who have to strive to get water for daily use. Much of the municipal water is wasted before it reaches the consumers by way of leaking pipes or illicit connections. We use large quantities of water for agriculture. New techniques have to be introduced for low-cost farming.

Public awareness against over use/misuse, on desalination, recycling of water and rain harvesting should be created. Participation of the people, especially women, in the programmes of the Government must be ensured..

Ravikumar N

Thiruvananthapuram

Check wastage

The KWA should provide potable water for drinking and cooking purposes and non-potable for other uses. Rainwater should be collected in open fields and diverted to areas of water shortage. Local methods of water conservation should be adopted in every panchayat. Political parties should take the initiative and enlist volunteers for this.

K.P. Karunakaran Nair

general secretary, Confederation of Residents' Associations

Do your bit

Water is the elixir of life. It should be preserved at any cost. The shortage of water can be overcome to a certain extent by adopting some simple methods. Planting trees like pulinchi, athi and lime around wells makes the place cool and shady. Use nets to cover wells so as to prevent leaves from falling into it. Dig one or two pits of about 4 feet wide and seven feet deep near the well. The pits can be permanent or temporary. Allow water from the rooftops to fall into the pits during the rainy season. Steps should be taken to cover the pits to avoid accidents. Using these simple techniques will help, in a small way, to help conserve water.

Nasarudeen S

Kollam

Restore sources

With the monsoon imminent, this is the time to hope that the worst of water scarcity is temporarily behind us. Accordingly, the plan to have Ministers assigned a district each to monitor water issues is unlikely to be an exact or efficient response to the situation, which is that the mother source, precipitation, and following it, surface and subterranean sources, are no longer reliable or dependable. Watershed augmentation, which primarily involves safeguarding or restoring water bodies by building check-dams that help regulate or divert water within or through these areas, and workable methods of water quality augmentation are key to meet this challenge.

Devraj Sambasivan

Alappuzha

Protect green cover

It is indeed an irony that a land such as ours which abounds in water is reeling under water scarcity. Most of our fresh water bodies remain either contaminated or dry. Rainwater, which is the major source of water, is not duly harvested and much of it runs off to the sea. The depleting groundwater stocks are not replenished properly, as the ways in which rainwater can percolate into the soil are sealed or hindered.

How can we combat the threat posed by the scarcity of potable water?

If we collectively resolve and act to meet the challenge, the goal will be attained without much difficulty. We have to live in harmony with nature. The green cover of the earth should be kept intact.

N.K. Vijayan

Kizhakkambalam

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