EARTHLINGS have lost yet another year since the last Earth Day 2022! And we have a lot to show for all the progress made in conferences, meetings, policy tweaks on papers, verbal assurances of implementing more and more conservation measures to push away the ZERO WATER DAY! In the meantime, summer of 23 has arrived with a vengeance and even as I write this quote in Mumbai, the outside temperature is about 400 C.
When Nature starts asserting itself notwithstanding the half-hearted human endeavours, it beats all predictions and computational models even as we keep developing our AI and ML capabilities. On the global scale all it means is that all-natural resources including water are under serious threat of acute scarcity. The social inequities are exacerbated by uneven distribution of water, food, healthcare and basic civic amenities. SDG6 is not immune to these forces and in fact is most vulnerable. The provision of safe water (as a basic human need) is as uncertain in India and other poorer countries as it is in some neglected and under-privileged communities of the North.
The instances of accidental spills of human wastes and industrial products in water sources across the globe are all too common and affect humanity without borders! Given the fact that water is consumed directly and indirectly (as virtual water) by all earthlings, the demands exerted by the economic growth, global IT networks, data centres, chip manufacturers and green hydrogen factories have added to the problems of supply management. The neglected state of wastewater reclamation plants and their sheer inadequacy to cope with the emerging volumes of domestic wastewater create a state of grossly polluted sources which might degenerate beyond redemption.
While India is fast racing towards Har Ghar Nal, the race towards Har Ghar Jal might remain unfinished if sustainability of water sources remains questionable. The urban / rural divide may be partially bridged if sincere efforts, backed by state and private funding are made to refurbish all the existing wastewater reclamation plants. Additional capacity must also be created by every ULB to fully treat its wastewater for reuse locally for multiple purposes.
Once this confidence of local reclamation and reuse is reached, the next logical leap of faith of direct potable reuse will be just round the corner!!
And that alone has the potential to reduce our water woes!