Water Lessons from Australia

Australia became an exceptional and classic proof of Albert Einstein’s hypothesis, ‘In the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity’. The country suffered a prolonged period of dry condition—Millennium Drought—from late 1996 to mid-2010. This period sowed the seeds of innovative and creative water management that involved every citizen. The Government of Australia brought all water users, along with all concerned government agencies, on one platform.

The exact situation was discussed thoroughly. Brain-storming sessions brought up fiery exchanges among various sections. Direct conversation with statistical facts under the darkest clouds of ‘zero’ water day made all players accountable and responsible. 

Thousands of water-saving ideas bloomed. Collection, purification and reuse of water became everybody’s business. Transparency about information and effective communication is essential for saving water initiatives. Active participation of the entire civil society became the foundation of Australia’s success. Even tiles and roads soak water and pass it to water sumps. Such practices of water conservation and recycling of water were rewarded. At the same time, any wastage of water was penalised. Industries, public institutions and houses started to collect, purify and reuse waste water, so they could reduce per capita water consumption.

Everyone was striving to reduce their water footprint. Water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. A Water Aid International report says, “For producing 1 kg cotton in the US, 8,100 litre water is required, whereas in India it is 22,500 litre.” The Australian Grown Cotton Sustainability Report says,“The Australian cotton industry has achieved a 40 percent increase in water productivity over the last decade.” Agriculture and the manufacturing sector took keen interest in reduction of their water footprint. 

Micro-level checks were made in water supply, too. Australia’s target is to reduce water leakages from pipes to 6 percent from 10 percent. In the US, it is 12 percent, where as in India, it is 50-60 percent. Control rooms in Australian cities spot the leakages anywhere in the pipe. Next plan is to use robots in fixing the leakages. The latest report, Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) by the Niti Aayog, underlines the water threat in India. It says, “Twenty-one major cities, including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad, are running to reach zero groundwater levels by 2020.” This will affect access for 100 million people. 

Eminent water expert Tushar Shah says, “Water infrastructure in India is highly neglected. Seventy-five percent of the water economy is dependent on self-supply. Water bureaucracy is a mute spectator.” According to a survey of Centre for Science & Environment, Indian cities produce 15 billion litre of waste water daily and not a single Indian city recycles the waste water. It is one of the reasons that no Indian city could be on the list of green cities of the world.

Sulakshana Mahajan, Mumbai-based architect and expert in town planning, warns, “We may not get fresh water every day. Survival of Indian water management is possible only if we recycle waste water. Proper policies, training and implementation for precise utilisation of water are the necessity.’’ 

Indian and Australian water management are poles apart. We are moving from water chaos to water anarchy. Wastage of time, energy and money along with diseases, conflicts and deaths are the fruits of our ‘water culture’. Australia woke up to the alarm and became the model of water management. What about us?atul.deulgaonkar@gmail.com