17-07-2015, 10:32 AM
problem of drinking water in rural area ppt
Abstract:
There is no doubt that the availability/accessibility of drinking water to the rural households in India has increased over the past couple of decades, partly due to concerted efforts by the state and partly due to rise in income of the people. Public provisioning of drinking water is primarily done through tap whereas private provisioning is through tube well and the later has now become the predominant source in majority of the states. Households are found to opt more for tubewell than other sources because it is more reliable and easy to install even within premises. However, excess draft of groundwater has created problems of deteriorating water quality apart from those added by seepage of chemicals from agriculture. As a result, the groundwater needs to be treated for potabilty. The desired solution seems to be tap water, which is centrally treated. In rural areas, about 18 percent of households reported to have filtered their drinking water but very few of them have chemically treated water or boiled it before drinking.
The study finds a highly significant positive correlation between overall deficiency index and poverty ratio, which indicates that the poorest of the poor suffer the most. A significantly negative relation between the literacy rate and the percentage of cholera cases at times of deficiency also suggests that the overall situation improves with literacy. Further, percentage of households with drinking water at the premises is found to have a significantly positive relation with the percentage of school going children as well as with overall work participation ratio. All this indicates that there is a greater need to improve the water supply situation including quantity, quality, accessibility and dependability or perenniality. An integrated water management approach has to be adopted so as to improve and build upon the existing structure that are highly decentralised and dispersed. This would have important bearing on poverty reduction, environmental sustenance and sustainable economic development.
Drinking water is a basic requirement for life and a determinant of standard of living. However, besides government efforts, supply and demand side factors of both surface and groundwater determine the level of drinking water available to people. The supply and demand factors increase with the natural and human factors like pollution. This limits drinking water supply provision and raise the delivery cost. Decline in groundwater table and availability of surface water, particularly in summer months, has put large number of people in risk for drinking water. Poor water quality problem has also been observed in more number of habitations. Inadequate resource management and institutional system seems to be the major causes for the present problems. This paper examines the nature and magnitude of environmental problems, causes and impacts in drinking water supply. The study observes that activities like operation and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes; water quality monitoring; groundwater conservation and rainwater harvesting measures have to be implemented for better provision of drinking water supply. Further, an integrated institutional system for water quality monitoring and groundwater recharging seems to be necessary.
This background paper by WaterAid highlights the challenges involved in achieving clean drinking water supply in rural India. The paper looks at the general picture of rural water supply today, water quality issues and monitoring, service providers involved, the health and economic burden due to poor water quality and ends with a list of measures to achieve clean water supply.
The paper argues that besides the issue of quantity of water, which has been threatening to make India into a water scarce nation by 2020, issues related to water quality continue to pose an enormous challenge. Indians are affected by waterborne diseases annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone and 73 million working days are lost due to waterborne disease each year. The problems of chemical contamination are also prevalent in India and the major chemical pollutant of water are fluoride and arsenic. Iron is also emerging as a major problem in recent years.
The government has undertaken various programmes since independence to provide safe drinking water to the rural masses. Till the 10th plan, an estimated total of Rs.1,105 billion spent on providing safe drinking water. However, despite such expenditure lack of safe and secure drinking water continues to be a major hurdle and a national economic burden.
Water quality is affected by both point and non-point sources of pollution. These include sewage discharge, discharge from industries, run-off from agricultural fields and urban run-off. Water quality is also affected by floods and droughts and can also arise from lack of awareness and education among users. The need for user involvement in maintaining water quality and looking at other aspects like hygiene, environment sanitation, storage and disposal are critical elements to maintaining the quality of water resources.
With the decentralisation of programmes for water supply, it is essential that communities and institutions like panchayats are actively involved in the planning, implementation and execution of programmes for water supply. These institutions can also play an important role in monitoring of water sources and be made aware of simple remedial measures, which will require training and capacity building on a large scale. The article ends by arguing that there is a need to look for a holistic and people-centred approach for water management.
Abstract:
There is no doubt that the availability/accessibility of drinking water to the rural households in India has increased over the past couple of decades, partly due to concerted efforts by the state and partly due to rise in income of the people. Public provisioning of drinking water is primarily done through tap whereas private provisioning is through tube well and the later has now become the predominant source in majority of the states. Households are found to opt more for tubewell than other sources because it is more reliable and easy to install even within premises. However, excess draft of groundwater has created problems of deteriorating water quality apart from those added by seepage of chemicals from agriculture. As a result, the groundwater needs to be treated for potabilty. The desired solution seems to be tap water, which is centrally treated. In rural areas, about 18 percent of households reported to have filtered their drinking water but very few of them have chemically treated water or boiled it before drinking.
The study finds a highly significant positive correlation between overall deficiency index and poverty ratio, which indicates that the poorest of the poor suffer the most. A significantly negative relation between the literacy rate and the percentage of cholera cases at times of deficiency also suggests that the overall situation improves with literacy. Further, percentage of households with drinking water at the premises is found to have a significantly positive relation with the percentage of school going children as well as with overall work participation ratio. All this indicates that there is a greater need to improve the water supply situation including quantity, quality, accessibility and dependability or perenniality. An integrated water management approach has to be adopted so as to improve and build upon the existing structure that are highly decentralised and dispersed. This would have important bearing on poverty reduction, environmental sustenance and sustainable economic development.
Drinking water is a basic requirement for life and a determinant of standard of living. However, besides government efforts, supply and demand side factors of both surface and groundwater determine the level of drinking water available to people. The supply and demand factors increase with the natural and human factors like pollution. This limits drinking water supply provision and raise the delivery cost. Decline in groundwater table and availability of surface water, particularly in summer months, has put large number of people in risk for drinking water. Poor water quality problem has also been observed in more number of habitations. Inadequate resource management and institutional system seems to be the major causes for the present problems. This paper examines the nature and magnitude of environmental problems, causes and impacts in drinking water supply. The study observes that activities like operation and maintenance of drinking water supply schemes; water quality monitoring; groundwater conservation and rainwater harvesting measures have to be implemented for better provision of drinking water supply. Further, an integrated institutional system for water quality monitoring and groundwater recharging seems to be necessary.
This background paper by WaterAid highlights the challenges involved in achieving clean drinking water supply in rural India. The paper looks at the general picture of rural water supply today, water quality issues and monitoring, service providers involved, the health and economic burden due to poor water quality and ends with a list of measures to achieve clean water supply.
The paper argues that besides the issue of quantity of water, which has been threatening to make India into a water scarce nation by 2020, issues related to water quality continue to pose an enormous challenge. Indians are affected by waterborne diseases annually, 1.5 million children are estimated to die of diarrhoea alone and 73 million working days are lost due to waterborne disease each year. The problems of chemical contamination are also prevalent in India and the major chemical pollutant of water are fluoride and arsenic. Iron is also emerging as a major problem in recent years.
The government has undertaken various programmes since independence to provide safe drinking water to the rural masses. Till the 10th plan, an estimated total of Rs.1,105 billion spent on providing safe drinking water. However, despite such expenditure lack of safe and secure drinking water continues to be a major hurdle and a national economic burden.
Water quality is affected by both point and non-point sources of pollution. These include sewage discharge, discharge from industries, run-off from agricultural fields and urban run-off. Water quality is also affected by floods and droughts and can also arise from lack of awareness and education among users. The need for user involvement in maintaining water quality and looking at other aspects like hygiene, environment sanitation, storage and disposal are critical elements to maintaining the quality of water resources.
With the decentralisation of programmes for water supply, it is essential that communities and institutions like panchayats are actively involved in the planning, implementation and execution of programmes for water supply. These institutions can also play an important role in monitoring of water sources and be made aware of simple remedial measures, which will require training and capacity building on a large scale. The article ends by arguing that there is a need to look for a holistic and people-centred approach for water management.
