Managing and conserving water can be done more efficiently through digitization and largescale adoption of GIS tools and emerging technologies, say experts.
If the per capita water availability of any country falls below 1,700 cubic meters it is classified as a water-stressed country, as per internationally accepted norms. By this definition, India with per capita water availability of 1,545 cubic meters, according to the 2011 Census data, is among the highly water-stressed countries. The projections are equally alarming: per capita water availability is expected to fall to 1,401 cubic meters by 2025 and 1,191 cubic meters by 2050.
Further, satellite data and surveys of deep wells by the Central Groundwater Research Board show that the quantity of water used for cultivation in India stands at 688 billion cubic meters (BCM) and this is more than the figures in China, which is 385.2 BCM and that of the US 176.2 BCM. Of the 688 BCM of water used for irrigation in India, around 230 BCM is pumped from the ground.
Geospatial technologiesare crucial for the water conservation. These technologies, especially GIS, will better water resource management, according to the panel of experts who attended the Digitalization of Water Industry – boosting efficiency, organized by Geospatial World and supported by Esri.
Asok Kumar, Mission Director of the National Water Mission, said, “Water is important as it is a basic need not only for humans, but for every living being. There has been a paradigm shift in the way water conservation has taken shape over a period of time. Rain is the main source of water for India and it is important to keep in mind the three ‘R’s for conserving the same i.e., Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.”
The Ministry of Water Resources formulates India’s National Water Policy to govern the planning and development of water resources. It focuses largely on the structure that is required for saving and conserving water and its optimum usage.
RK Jain, Chief Engineer of the National Water Development Authority, said, “The Government of India has formulated a national perspective plan for interlinking rivers. A total of 30 links have been envisaged and these are classified under two components i.e., Himalayan component and Peninsular component.”
He said the digitalization of future water infrastructure needs planning from the conceptual stage. This will give a massive advantage in data processing and decision making.
Digitalization of water industry begins with data. Data generation annually in the world is estimated to be doubling every year. The quality and success of digitalization projects in the water sector are closely linked to the attention and investment on the collection, management, and classification of data. The data is then structured and stored in order to be translated into correlations and knowledge.
Chandra Mohan Singh Adhikari, Senior Manager, Esri, said, “To manage and save water, the use of GIS tools is very important. ArcGIS is a location platform used for reducing non-revenue water issues.”
There are various benefits of digital infrastructure. It involves integrated and comprehensive water-system knowledge, engages all stakeholders, supports decisions and opens the door to increased public participation.
Also Read: How India’s water conservation methods can be upgraded to fit rural requirements
MS Rathore, Joint Director of the National Water Informatics Centre (NWFC), said, “The mission of the NWFC is to collect data across India and add value to it for informing citizens, governments and businesses on the state of India’s water resources and utilization.”
Mission Bhagiratha of the Government of Telangana is moving in the right direction in their initiative to conserve water and water in every tap.
“The Mission Bhagiratha focuses on providing safe, adequate, sustainable, and equitable treated drinking water at doorsteps of the entire rural and urban areas of Telangana,” said Jyoti Gade, Deputy Executive Engineer of Mission Bhagiratha.
She said digitalization will improve productivity and efficiency of work and also reduce data redundancies and promote paperless work. Also, the purpose of WebGIS is to view overall statistics of assets, navigate on maps, know structure-wise details and monitor water levels.
The future scope of digitalization is that the daily water supply will be monitored and integrate SCADA for real-time monitoring of the project and also track the non-revenue water (NRW).
Several efforts have been made in India and other parts of the world wherever water shortage has become an important issue. Various governments have undertaken construction of water harvesting structures which has not only helped in storing water on the surface, but enhanced recharging the ground water.
There is a lot that we need to learn from Israel, which has become a perfect example for the world for water conservation. It treats about 94 percent of its wastewater and recycles around 85 percent of water. Israel is expecting to bring this level to 90 percent over the next five-seven years. India has to first put into place rainwater collection systems and digitalize its water industries to achieve targeted results.
