Water Policy (by Swati Kwatra , Lady Irwin College)
With the rapid increase in population, the need to meet the increasing demands of irrigation, domestic, and industrial consumption, the available water resources are getting depleted and water quality has deteriorated. Water quality in almost all the major rivers in India is deteriorating. The monitoring results obtained during 2004 indicate that organic pollution continues to be the predominant pollution of aquatic resources. Organic pollution measured in terms of bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) & coliform count gives an indication of extent of water quality degradation in different parts of our country. It is observed that nearly 66% of the observations are having BOD less than 3 mg/l, 19% between 3-6 mg/l & 15% above 6 mg/l. Similarly, Total & Fecal coliforms, which indicate presence of pathogens in water, are also a major concern.
National Water Policy was adopted in September, 1987. Since then, a number of issues and challenges have emerged in the development and management of the water resources. Therefore, the National Water Policy (1987) has been reviewed and updated in 2002 which says that “Effluents should be treated to acceptable levels and standards before discharging them into natural streams”. However there is no specific waste water policy as such.
There is a need to study the mechanisms followed in other developed countries and success stories can be implemented in India. Role of water quality models and indicators also need to be enhanced. Also, there are policy intervention requirements on recycle/reuse of wastewater
Wastewater Treatment
In 2001, there was a big gap in the treatment of domestic waste water, as only 26% of the domestic waste water is treated in the urban centres. It is estimated that 22 900 MLD of domestic waste water is generated from the urban centres against 13 000 MLD industrial waste water. However, the treatment capacity available for domestic waste water is only for 6000 MLD against 8000 MLD of industrial waste water (MoEF 2003). In Delhi, waste water generated from domestic and industrial sources finds its way into Yamuna river, contributing nearly 238 tonnes per day of BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) load into the river (CPCB 2005b).
There is a need to innovate in terms of waste water management to bring water quality improvements in major rivers of India. Emphasis has to be given to both centralized and decentralized sewage treatment technologies. Industrial effluent treatment also needs specific attention due to its higher toxicity. Management of wastewater treatment sludge is another upcoming problem which needs to be tackled. With the increasing scarcity of water innovative tertiary treatment technologies are required for reuse of municipalor industrial wastewater.