Clean Drinking Water - Additional Inputs
Below are the Solutions, Root Causes and Issues related to clean drinking water in India. Kindly review them and if you have anything additional, please share as a comment. We have begun compiling the whitepaper and will be sharing it with Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and other stake holders.
We look forward to your inputs!
Availability of Clean Drinking Water- Key Solutions
1. Water provided by the corporation should be checked and monitored on a regular basis
2. Drinking water policies should be framed according to the requirements in the deficit areas
3. Water recycling plants should be made mandatory for industries, hospitals, hotels, etc.
4. Awareness should be spread among people through all the mediums to preserve drinking water
5. Stored water should be purified properly through new technological methods
6. Water purifying chemicals should be made easily available in markets
7. Water tanks should supply water in areas where there is a shortage of drinking water
8. Water tanks must be cleaned regularly
9. Effective Rainwater Harvesting structures should be made mandatory for new constructions
10. Packaged drinking water should be provided by the Government at reasonable prices during peak summers months
11. Water treatment/purification plants should be established in every village and town
12. Switzerland’s water preservation and purification model can be studied and adopted
13. Strict action must be taken against private companies selling sub-standard packaged drinking water
14. A responsible, transparent & accountable system should be established at the water corporation
15. Grievances response related to water should be made quick and effective
16. Transmission loss due to faults in water line, cracks, leakages, using motors in domestic connections, defective taps etc. should be addressed promptly
17. Pipelines should be put in areas which do not get water supply
Availability of Clean Drinking Water – Root Causes
1. Pipelines have not been laid to all places
2. Demand for drinking water is high
3. Water treatment plants are not able to generate enough drinking water
4. The water treatment plants are technologically old and inefficient
5. These plants are also not able to purify the water to the best level
6. Poor maintenance of Overhead/Underground Water Storage Tanks
7. Ineffective chlorination before pumping for domestic consumption
8. A lot of the water pipelines are very old as susceptible to cracks and leakages
9. Workers of the water department have a careless attitude
10. There is no effective complaint redressal system for drinking water complaints
11. People do not care about the free drinking water that is available in public areas and waste it
12. Water tank suppliers do not care about cleanliness as there is no authority to keep them in check
13. Harmful chemicals and sewage waste is dumped into the water bodies
14. Religious ceremonies are performed in rivers, making the water not treatable
15. There are no quality checks on drinking water supply
16. There is a nexus between water tank suppliers and water department
17. Too much water is misused by the upper class
18. District Managements particularly in Rural India does not take responsibility for Water Management
Availability of Clean Drinking Water – Key Issues
1. A lot of places still don’t get the supply of drinking water at all
2. Water supply is irregular and inadequate
3. Urban pockets in small and mid-size towns do not have municipal water pipes and people make their own arrangements for drinking water
4. Poor condition of water pipes & widespread leaks cause pollution of drinking water
5. People get sick due to drinking contaminated water
6. It is tough to reach the water department and make complaints
7. In villages and rural India, people have to walk miles to find drinking water
8. Chlorine and bleaching powder is used to treat water which is not good for health
9. Wastage of drinking water due to water valves getting broken or stolen
10. Water reservoirs are not cleaned periodically and are not maintained in good shape
11. A lot of water is wasted in public areas due to broken taps
12. Supply water tanks are not cleaned regularly
13. ‘Water mafia’ has developed and drinking water is being sold at a high premium
14. A lot of mineral water bottles being sold in the market are found to be fake. more