Has Covid-19 pierced the water bubble?
As I was finishing my last post, I had shared my upcoming plans to write about the importance of water conservation in urban households. Little did I know then that this subject will have to be re-looked at in the face of a new challenge called Covid-19.
The onslaught of a global pandemic has forced us to review our hygiene practices across all social strata. It has exposed the vulnerability of modern societies which are interdependent and interconnected economically, hygienically, environmentally and globally. Covid-19 caught us unaware in a vicious cycle of lopsided development, where today both the haves and have nots have come under the same threat to their health and lives. This is an unprecedented catch 22 situation for entire humanity.
Before we look into the urgency of water conservation in Indian cities due to Covid-19, let us first briefly understand the problems of the huge population living in appalling conditions in highly dense city slums and the inequitable distribution of water among citizens of urban India.
Slums and shanties near posh housing localities is the general picture of metro-centric urbanisation in India. Over 65 million people in India live in slums. Slum dwellers make 55% of the population of the financial capital of Mumbai. Our urban capitalistic society heavily depends on the services provided by people working as domestic help, cooks, public and private transport drivers, watchmen (building guards), small time retail or street vendors, delivery personnel, cleaners, laundrymen, plumbers, electricians, porters, building painters, industrial, agricultural and construction workers. Most of these people are circular migrant labourers living in slums and shanties and it is estimated that they contribute around 10% to the national GDP.
We need them and come in close contact with them on a daily basis. On the other hand, they too are compelled to migrate to cities which are the economic growth centres for their livelihood in the absence of development in their rural natives. It is said that 80% of our GDP is created only in 10 or 12 major cities. Hence, the reality is that we cannot do away with each other. However, the inhuman conditions in which they live do not leave much room for personal or community hygiene and social distancing.
In my previous post, I had mentioned that nearly 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress and about 200,000 people die every year due to inadequate access to safe water. The current situation has become even more ironical due to the emergence of Covid-19 which needs all of us, no matter which economic group we belong to, to maintain personal hygiene by washing our hands several times a day besides other hygiene practices such as bathing and wearing clean, washed clothes, using clean and sanitary toilets, keeping our houses clean, using clean water for cooking and drinking and practicing social distancing. Add to that list — washing reusable face masks that we must wear every time we step out of our homes.
The pandemic has brought this otherwise ‘pushed under the carpet’ truth out in the open that each and every one has to meet a common standard of hygienic living, without any socio-economic discrimination to ensure survival and security at all ends. Unfortunately, the ground reality is very different when it comes to equitable distribution and availability of clean water in India. This new global health paradigm with more emphasis on cleanliness in our lifestyle assumes all of us to have adequate supply of fresh water which is not possible without conservation at every level — government, communities and individual citizens. We have to fulfil the theme of World Water Day, 2019 — “Leaving no one behind” while fighting an infectious disease like Covid-19!
Is the water supply in Indian metro cities adequate for the hand-washing ritual of preventing Covid-19?
As per IS1172:1993 recommendations of the Bureau of Indian Standards, households in city slums are supposedly entitled to 40 LPHD (Litres Per Head Per Day) of water that is available at few stand posts shared by hundreds. These standards also suggest 200 LPHD for High Income Group (HIG) and reduce the same to 135 LPHD for Lower Income Group (LIG) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS). Government of India along with the states had earlier taken up the ambitious project of tap water supply in every rural household by 2024 under Jal Jeevan Mission. It is planned to provide upto 55 LPCD (Litres Per Capita Per Day) to every Indian rural household. Similar schemes can be planned for the city slums and their water quota could be raised to 70-100 LPHD through tap connection in every LIG and EWS household in slums.
We are being advised to wash our hands with soap, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, several times in a day, to prevent the spread of this disease. This will require approximately 1.5 to 2.5 litres per wash, that makes 12 to 20 litres per person per day for 7 to 8 washes.
So, the question arises how will someone who is supposed to get only 40 LPHD of clean water for all their domestic needs manage the scale of hand washing and personal hygiene needed to fight Covid-19?
We must remember that washing of hands is equally important for everyone — even those whom the privileged employ, in order to protect everyone from infection. Isn’t it high time to realise that equitable access to clean water is of utmost necessity to be a healthy nation on the whole?
Can water conservation begin at home?
The challenge is how to provide adequate quantities of clean potable water to those who need it most in the cities — the slum dwellers. Water conservation by HIG and MIG households is one of the solutions, at least partly. If this is done on a community basis in collaboration with government agencies, such as in housing complexes of sector wise configuration, each sector having several blocks will have a ripple effect in increasing availability of water. This will enable municipalities to supply higher water quantities to the slums under their jurisdiction.
If each individual home in a block having 400 accommodations saves 20 litres or two buckets full of water, while following water conservation methods but not compromising on normal comfort level of water consumption, 8000 litres of water can be contributed in a day to the municipality. If the sector has 20 such blocks it will be able to save 160,000 litres of water per day, which is equal to more than 40 water tankers of 1000 gallons capacity. This amount of conserved water can help increase per capita availability of water from 40 LPHD to 100 LPHD in a slum housing with around 2000 residents.
Water conservation in one’s house should not be limited to saving a few litres of water here and there to make up for short supply of the same during summer and return back to square one once the situation apparently improves as monsoon arrives. Instead it must be taken as a way of life and practiced through continuous improvement in small steps — Kaizen. This way we will learn to value water in our life and make optimum use of it. The children in the house will learn from their elders not to waste even waste water.
Is it not a crime to flush our toilets with drinking quality water, the only quality supplied by municipalities at a huge cost when thousands of babies in the slum suffer and die from water-borne diseases?
With growing awareness among citizens, wastage of water will not take place in offices, commercial establishments, schools, colleges and movie theatres. One will not be indifferent when they see a roadside tap is left open and water is gushing out. No amount of increased water supply to take care of increased demand for it, whatever may be the reason will be sustainable, unless we become water conscious as a nation.
Keeping all this in mind, the discussions on principles and methods of water conservation which can be practiced in city houses including personal experiences follows next.
