Where is the drinking water?

71% of earth's surface is covered with water but the drinking water is 1.2%(approx.) of it. Clean freshwater is an essential ingredient for a healthy human life, but 1.1 billion people lack access to water and 2.7 billion experience water scarcity at least one month a year. With water crisis already tormenting many cities in the world, WWF's(World Wide Fund for Nature) new report of 2020 on water risks shows that millions of people in the cities across the globe could face dramatically increasing water risks by 2050.

According to WWF, the 100 cities that are expected to suffer the greatest rise in water risk by 2050 are home to at least 350 million people as well as nationally and globally important economies. Globally, populations in areas of high-water risk could rise from 17% in 2020 to 51% by 2050.

The list of cities are Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro. China accounts for almost half the cities. About 30 Indian cities including Jaipur, Indore, Amritsar, Pune, Srinagar, Kolkata, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kozhikode and Vishakhapatnam among many others have been identified as cities that will face increasing water risks in the next few decades.

Already, nearly half of the country (around 600 million people) face severe water scarcity with around 2 lakh people dying every year due to inadequate access to potable water, 70% of India's water is contaminated. Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks.

Here, many factors come into considerations out of which few are population, usage and agriculture oriented. Many people started migrating to cities for better living since 90's increasing the population of now known metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, etc. Due to increasing population of the land more than it's capacity it's leading to over consumption. According to The Water, Land and Trees Act(WALTA), 2002, the minimum distance between two borewells is 250m also the depth cannot be more than 120m yet people don't care to follow rules thus, we can see borewells every 50-70m in India.

An average person wastes 30 gallons (approx 114 litres) of water every day. One should contribute by not wasting any water. Many cities' ground water tables are drying up one of which is Chennai. The residents there buy water in tankers which costs 5000 Rs for 10000ltr(approx.) than earlier 1200 Rs for same quantity from private suppliers.

Dindori village of Madhya Pradesh is one of the many struggling with limited water supplies. During the summer many wells dry up, forcing people to walk miles for water. In this case young girls must climb down as far as 40 feet to fill their buckets using ropes and small foot holds, accidents are frequent. Once at the bottom, worm infested water is collected. Experts estimate if we don't take quick decisions to overcome this, by 2030 this is just going to worsen.

Girl descending down into well for water in Dindori

Rivers are being polluted, waste is being dumped into them, we are living irresponsibly without knowing the consequences.

The world's most polluted river Citarum in Indonesia which is relied upon by 35 million people is filled with plastic and human faces mostly. Also Yamuna in India.

Citarum River

There is no wonder farmers are facing issues in agriculture with increasing water crisis.

So what is the solution for this? Do we have one? Yes, we do. Here are few.

Things you can do from home.

1. Stop wasting tap water, close it when not in use

2. Use only 1 bucket of water to take bath

3. Invest in rain water harvesting methods

4. If you are building a new home, try to make an in-built rainwater harvesting method like percolation pits, rooftop harvesting methods, etc.

5. Segregate wet and dry waste and make sure you are dumping the waste at municipality's allocated bins.

6. Ask your family and friends to do the same.

On large scale with collaborative efforts.

1. Along with your peers or family members go on river cleaning drive if there is any polluted water body close to you.

2. If your government is not taking any collective measures in waste management and water saving techniques write a letter as community request to the municipal commissioner or collector of the district.

3. Urban planning and wetland conservation needs to be integrated to ensure zero loss of freshwater systems in the urban areas.

4. Private sector companies and financial institutions also have a vital role to play in reducing water risk to their operations and assets as well as cities, which are the main engines of sustainable economic growth.

"Companies, cities, and investors – even ministries of finance, are finally waking up to the growing water risks facing the economy and the need to take urgent action to reduce their risks and tackle shared water challenges, "said Morgan. "By harnessing the new scenarios in the Water Risk Filter, companies, cities and investors can better assess, respond and plan for climate and water resilience – helping to reduce water risks to their own operations as well as cities."

Note: All the facts and figures are taken from official website of WWF, National Geography and other certified sources.