Water

Compiled by    Mrs. P.Ramani * and Ms. Sonali Vadhavkar**

Water Resources:

Mumbai city is having good water supply because of its natural water resources.  Water is an essential commodity for human being in the world.  Most of the places in India, water supply is based on the natural way, that is rainfall.  If rainfall is sufficient then there will not be any water scarcity but no guarantee for rains. Because of urbanization most of the forests are demolished and making townships.  These problems are creating difficulty to natural rainfall.

In the recent days Mumbai along with other parts of the country has experienced a major slide in the rainfall due to the delayed monsoon and decline in total rainfall.  Even though the scope of water resource development in Mumbai is still very good given its good potential, but it is more likely that the cost of its development shall rise in future making it not so easy to tap the remaining water potential.

The demand for water has been increasing with the rise of population in the city, water demand for all major uses amounted to 3930 MLD in 1991(MCGM1994).

 Present Situation:

The water distribution system in Bombay is also about a 100-years-old.  Water is brought in from the lakes after treatment, and stored in 23 service reservoirs.  The two major-sources, Tansa and Lower Vaitarna are at a higher level than the city, not much power is required to pump the water.  The service reservoirs are mainly situated on hills as mentioned earlier are located at Malabar Hill, Worli Hill, Raoli, Pali Hill, Malad, Powai and Bhandup.  The timing of water supply to different parts of the city vary between two to five hours.

Currently, the Mumbai Municipal Organization (BMC) earns above Rs. 4.5 billion a year through water charges and levies.  Water production costs Rs. 24 per 10,000 litres, they charge Rs. 6 for 10,000 litres for industrial and commercial users.

Mumbai’s current population is of 12 million. The present average gross per capita water supply is 260 litres.The present situation in Mumbai after the floods of July 26th is very pleasant according to the newspaper “Mumbai Mirror” Sunday May7, 2006.  This article says that the Mumbaikars were under tension to face electricity cut and water supply cut but because of the present situation of the water levels of six lakes, which supplies water for Mumbai city, is excellent.

Lakes

2005

2006

Modak Sagar

44940

36968

Tansa

31945

31633

Vihar

9637

3598

Tulsi

3055

3364

Upper Vaitarna

23542

51180

Bhatsa

112964

324927

However, despite the bonanza BMC will continue to supply the standard 135 litres per person per day and for new buildings 90 litres per person per day.

Although the city received abundant rainfall last year this is not always the case, most of the times the levels of lakes are not in satisfactory result.  To face the drought situation the Government should implement some measures like savings in water losses en route through reduction in leakages and distribution, designing and installing water conserving equipment at public places and conveniences. 

Besides these situations, we have a major issue to be attended. These natural reservoirs have to be protected from impurities, i.e. water pollution aspect. This is somewhere not considered seriously.For this to be studied, we need to first get into the root cause and then find options to prevent or reduce water pollution.

            The three important questions which help us to solve this problem are: What are the sources of Water Pollution?  What are the effects of Water Pollution? and the ways to minimize the problem. 

 

 

 

The Sources of Water Pollution

There are many sources or causes of water pollution.  But 2 general categories are: Direct and Indirect sources.

  • Direct Source: means the harmful effluent fluids from factories, industries, waste treatment plants which are directly emitted into urban water supplies and  rivers, lakes, etc. thus affecting water supply in urban areas and marine ecosystem as fishes and     other aquatic organisms suffer,causing ecological imbalance.
    • Indirect Source: include contaminants that enter water supply from groundwater system/soil and atmosphere via rainwater. Soils and groundwaters contain the residue of human agricultural practices (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) and improperly disposed of industrial wastes. Atmospheric contaminants are also derived from human practices (such as gaseous emissions from automobiles, factories and even bakeries).

    Ground Water Pollution

    The Effects of Water Pollution

     

    The effects of water pollution are varied. They include poisonous drinking water, poisonous food animals (due to these organisms having bioaccumulated toxins from the environment over their life spans), unbalanced river and lake ecosystems that can no longer support full biological diversity, deforestation from acid rain, and many other effects. These effects are, of course, specific to the various contaminants. Besides these, various water borne diseases also occur due to contaminated water consumption.

    We are blessed with rich water resources, so it’s our duty to take care of the resources for our safety and well-being. Water is the primary need of human being so, it’s conservation should be our prime motive. This article is a start from our end to find the causes and solutions for our own problems which if neglected can turn into great risks.

     

    Ways to Reduce Water Pollution

     

    Science provides many practical solutions to minimizing the present level at which pollutants are introduced into the environment and for remediating (cleaning up) past problems. All of these solutions come with some cost (both societal and monetary). In our everyday lives, a great deal can be done to minimize pollution if we take care to recycle materials whose production creates pollution and if we act responsibly with household chemicals and their disposal. Additionally, there are choices which we make each day that also can affect the quantity of pollutants. Heavily packaged foods, for instance, contain boxes, cartons, bottles etc. made with polluting dyes, many of which are released from groundwater at municipal landfills. Whether we choose to drive to the corner store rather than walk or ride a bicycle will determine how much we personally contribute to acid and hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere (and ultimately to global fresh water supplies).

    In the end, there are many choices on the personal and societal level that we must make (consciously or not) that affect the amount of pollution our town or country will be forced to live with. Our standard of living and varied way of life is based upon practices which are inherently "dirtier" than those of our distant ancestors, although they too polluted their environment to some extent. Without taking a step backward in terms of our standards of living, the answer seems to lie in a combination of many small changes in our daily practices and paying more for goods and services, so that manufacturers of various materials and drivers of automobiles (for instance) will have cleaner devices with which to conduct their activities.

    Source:

     I)         Questions were posted on the Geology & Geophysics Dept.'s Ask-An-Earth-Scientist © web page at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

    II)       Water Resources Status in Mumbai by Ramakrishna Nallathiga and Dattatraya Sabale, Vol.XXXVI,No.3 July-September,2004. Nagarlok Journal.