Importance of urban water sanitation in Indian, in context to safe drinking water

Urban water sanitation in India today faces several challenges as many people living in urban areas lack access to improved sanitation arrangements. Better water sanitation unquestionably contributes to environmental protection, through a reduction in pollution of waterways and groundwater, further helping to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change on drinking water.

Faecal sludge, a slurry, which contains liquid and solid waste materials that accumulate in onsite sanitation systems such as septic tanks, is a result of improper collection, storage, or treatment of combinations of human waste and black water. It pollutes the environment with its offensive odour and appearance as it contains high levels of grease, hair, waste, and bacteria.

At present the onsite sanitation systems can be managed better, the onus of their management lies solely on local practices which in certain cases prove to be ineffective. Hence, there is a definite need for effective faecal sludge and septage management which involves the adequate collection, treatment and proper disposal of the waste material by different stakeholders.

Thus, to address the issue, Sasanka Velidandla, Advisor Program and Management, Wash Institute, has commented on the following aspects:

What are the implications of improper treatment and disposal of faecal sludge and septage on water supply?

The impact of urbanization and pollution on water supply is alarming and very evident as urban water bodies are shrinking and drying up because water flows are disrupted due to construction. Additionally, untreated sewage flows have polluted the few remaining water bodies rendering the water unfit for human use. These water bodies become natural dumping grounds for faecal sludge emptying trucks and garbage which further exacerbates the situation.

As a result, most cities rely on water pumped from far away, sometimes hundreds of kilometres, for their water supplies which results in huge energy costs. This water supply is then augmented by local informal groundwater sources. The lack of proper treatment and pollution of surface and groundwater results in an additional cost for the government to treat water and supply it to the citizens.

Improper management of faecal sludge contributes to pollution of both surface water as well as groundwater. The overflows from septic tanks and dumping of faecal sludge affect water bodies adversely. In poor communities, lack of space and inability to afford pits/septic tanks sometimes leads to direct discharge of toilet wastes into water bodies.

Also, groundwater is affected by poorly located toilet leach pits (single pits or twin pits) in areas with a high water table.

How successful have government policies been in integrating water and sanitation issues in the country?

Integration started by co-locating the Water Resources and Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS) departments under the new Jal Shakti Ministry. Even the missions now see greater integration of water and sanitation missions. For example, the National Mission for Clean Ganga is focused on preventing wastewater and faecal sludge from polluting the Ganga and its tributaries in both urban and rural areas along the river.

Further, the two missions being run by the DDWS, namely Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM, rural household water supply) and Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 2.0 (rural solid and liquid waste) are designed to serve the entire range of water, sanitation, and hygiene outcomes. On the urban side, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) and SBM (U) 2.0 are planning to step up coordination by pooling resources for capacity building and communication.

While this form of integration is taking place at the central level and should definitely be strengthened further, far too often the benefits of such schemes are not fully realized due to administrative fragmentation at the State and local government levels. Split responsibility for creating and operating infrastructure between parastatal agencies and local governments respectively, leads to poor outcomes.

This is due to a lack of know-how, skills, and personnel with local governments for operations and maintenance, lack of dedicated revenues for meeting O&M costs leading to poor quality of service and compromised outcomes. A good first step would be to mandate water and sanitation planning holistically at the city level as part of an Integrated Urban Water Management approach.

Given how climate change is leading to variability in the availability of water, how do you think the country can resolve its issues with water supply? How does FSSM play a role here?

Adaptation measures for climate change to address water supply should address a host of issues. Responsible use of water for agriculture is the biggest challenge since a vast majority of freshwater is used for growing crops. Water sensitive policies on land use for commercial crops, export policy on water-intensive products such as sugar and rice, are part of a gamut of larger issues to address farmer incentives and behaviours.

One other key initiative in agriculture would be the use of urban treated wastewaters for irrigation. This should be enabled near all cities and towns, to the extent possible, due to the multiple potential benefits. Treated wastewater can substitute freshwater extraction, saving a lot of energy in the process. It also has valuable nutrients that can reduce fertilizer use. And finally, irrigation allows for the recharge of groundwater.

Another critical initiative is to maintain healthy organic content (by recycling nutrients from organic solid waste, animal and human excreta) of soils as a way to increase the water-holding capacity of soils and improve soil health.

Industrial water use should be tightly regulated and where feasible only treated wastewater should be used in industry through long term supply arrangements. Every process and product should be benchmarked for water footprint (similar to energy start ratings) for building awareness and driving improvements. The decisions regarding using treated water for agriculture or industry should be driven by environmental benefits and not only economic value generation.

At the local government level, interventions start with having water security plans for every municipality, village and district, primarily through conserving rainwater at watershed, city or village, and household rainwater harvesting interventions (storage, recharge, and responsible outflow). These can take many forms which are well documented and easy to implement with the greatest impediment being unplanned urban expansion.

FSSM, being a low cost and largely decentralized approach to sanitation, has an inherently low water footprint and plays a key role in preventing pollution. Properly designed and maintained toilet containment systems are resilient to climate-related events such as extreme precipitation events, and droughts. For example, a pour flush toilet uses very little water and continuously recharges groundwater when connected to a properly designed single or twin pit.

Water, energy, and food security are all deeply intertwined and require holistic action.

With various government programs at the national, state, and community level bringing improvements in water sanitation and the drinking water supply, the seriousness of the challenges associated with urban water supply and sanitation in India have been recognised in recent times.

However, the problem of access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in urban areas of India is a topic of major concern and one which needs to be dealt with in a proper systematic manner.

( With inputs from ANI )

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