Access to safe and affordable drinking water
VK Madhavan | WaterAid India
C U R R E N T
S C E N A R I O
By 2030, achieve
universal and equitable
access to safe and
affordable drinking water
for all
S u s t a i n a b l e D e v e l o p m e n t G o a l 6 . 1
Basic service
Free from contamination
Accessible on
premises
Available when
needed
Safely managed service
U r b a n S c e n a r i o
70.6%
Urban households
covered with piped
water supply
71% 20.7% 8%
available within
premises
available near
premises
available away from premises
Source: Census 2011
62% Tapwater from treated source
8.6% Tapwater from untreated source
R u r a l S c e n a r i o
41.9%
Habitations
covered with
pipe water
supply
53.4%
Population
covered with
pipe water
supply
17%
Household connections
Source: National Rural Drinking Water Programme (May 2018)
AMRUT promises
1.39 crore water
connections ensuring
water supply in every
household by March 2020
A s p i r a t i o n s | U r b a n
Source: Economic Times (May 2018)
• As per Ministry of Drinking
Water & Sanitation
Strategic Plan:
• 2017 - At least 50% of rural
households are provided
with piped water supply
• 2022- Ensure that at least
90% of rural households are
provided with piped water
supply
• Har Ghar Jal - aims to
provide tap water on a
sustained basis to every
household by 2030
A s p i r a t i o n s | R u r a l
Source: Press Information Bureau
India is the world’s
biggest consumer of
groundwater with an
annual extraction rate of
251 Km3
C H A L L E N G E S
Source: UNESCO 2012
112 Km3
USA
64 Km3
Pakistan
112 Km3
China
are fulfilled by groundwater Irrigation sector
Domestic use
Industrial use
50% 85%
of urban water
requirements
of rural water
requirements
89% 9%
2%
Source: Ministry of Water Resources Source: The World Bank
G r o u n d w a t e r u s e
Av e r a g e a n n u a l p e r c a p i t a a v a i l a b i l i t y o f w a t e r
5,200 m3
in 1951
1,816 m3
in 2001
1,545 m3
in 2011
A decline of
70% since 1951
1,401 m3
in 2025
Further predicted
to decrease to
Making India
'water stressed'
Source: Down to earth (July 2017)
• Decreasing flows in rivers
• Lakes, tanks and ponds –
encroachment, disruption of
drainage/catchments
• Disappearing Springs
D y i n g w a t e r b o d i e s
• At least 67% of the
wastewater generated from
Class I cities and more than
90% of wastewater generated
from Class II cities in India is
not treated and is a major
cause of environmental
pollution
• Between 2009 and 2015,
out of the 445 rivers
monitored, the number of
polluted rivers increased from
121 to 279
P o l l u t e d W a t e r B o d i e s
Source: Central Pollution Control Board
W a t e r Q u a l i t y - R u r a l
Fluoride Arsenic Iron Salinity Nitrate Heavy Metal
No
. o
f a
ffe
cte
d h
ab
ita
tio
ns
6 9 , 2 5 8
1 1 , 1 6 0
1 6 , 6 0 9
2 3 , 3 9 8
1 3 , 9 6 4
1 , 7 4 9 2 , 3 7 8
17,26,155
Total Habitations
Source: Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (May 2018)
Total
number of
affected
habitations
53% 36%
28% 17%
10% 4%
Delhi Bangalore
London Shanghai
New York Singapore
N o n - r e v e n u e w a t e r r a t e s i n u r b a n n e t w o r k s
Source: Smart Water Networks Forum, 2011
• Paucity of timely and
‘quality’ data for
appropriate decision making
• Multiple institutions
responsible for different
functions with often weak or
blurred accountability
C h a l l e n g e s
• Poor service quality and a
trust deficit in ability of
government to provide safe
water:
° India’s bottled water sector
outpaced growth of any
other major global markets
between 2016 and 2017,
recording impressive 19%
growth
° The market for water
purifiers is growing at about
15 per cent year-on-year
C h a l l e n g e s
Source: Media reports
W A Y F O R W A R D
• Reimagine our cities as
‘sponge cities’
• Rainwater Harvesting –
storage and recharge
• Revival of wells
• Rejuvenate surface water
bodies (Lakes/ Ponds/
Tanks), protect catchments,
ensure water recharge
• Treat waste water – recycle
and reuse
• Decentralised Solutions for
conservation and
management of water
W A Y F O R W A R D
• Comprehensive water pricing
that reflects ‘true’ cost of water
and incentivises prudent use
• Water metering for monitoring
service standards
• An entrepreneurial revolution in
water quality testing
• Incentives for industries using
recycled waste water for non-
critical services
• Time-lag between emergence of
new technologies and adoption
on scale – Innovations for
purification, treatment, testing,
monitoring
W A Y F O R W A R D
WaterAid India has been working for three decades and
focused on clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene
(WASH) – the three essentials that unlock progress for
people, communities and economies.
Know more about our work at
w w w. w a t e r a i d i n d i a . i n
Photo Credits:
Slide 10 - WaterAid/Poulomi Basu
Slide 16 – WaterAid/ VK Madhavan
All other - WaterAid/Prashanth Vishwanathan
Of the total water supply schemes
W a t e r s o u r c e s - R u r a l W a t e r s o u r c e s - U r b a n
Source: National Rural Drinking Water Programme (May 2018) Source: Down to Earth (2012)
97%
Based on
ground
water
Based on
surface
water
2%
Based on other
sources like
rainwater
<1%
City Source
Bangalore River Cauvery
Chennai Lakes and groundwater
Delhi River Yamuna and groundwater
Indore River Narmada
Jodhpur Indira Gandhi canal
Hyderabad River Krishna
India
R u r a l & U r b a n H o u s e h o l d s w i t h a c c e s s t o P i p e d W a t e r S u p p l y
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar Jharkhand Odisha Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh
Source: Census 2011
Rural Coverage with Tap Water (%)
Urban Coverage with Tap Water (%)
30.8
70.6
20.2
51.5
2.6
20
3.7
41.6
7.5
48
8.8
62.5
50.2
89.1