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Why is Kerala struggling to keep its head above water?

A view of Aluva in Kochi | Manorama

Old timers in Kerala remember a time when water was plenty, when every house in the state would have at least a few coconut trees. It was a common practice to dig out land around a coconut tree and let rainwater seep in through the land. This was especially beneficial in the summer seasons when the rate of absorption is greatly increased due to the increase in rate of transpiration in the leaves. Today, however, the traditional water conservation structures are all but lost. 

Kerala is blessed with an abundance of natural resources with 44 rivers straddled across a lush green backdrop. It is one of the most densely populated states in the country with high indicators of health and social development.  And as the state with the highest literacy rate, it’s befuddling to think that water management is an issue in Kerala. 

   

The dilemma

Rainfall averages in Kerala are as high as 3,100 mm a year with some 7,030 crore m3 of water in the state. This month, when all the 22 of the state’s dams reached their maximum capacity, they had to be opened. Unexpectedly high rainfall was a reason for high water levels in the dam. 

In April this year, Kerala government decided to declare nine of its 14 districts as drought-hit due to scarcity of rains, shortage of surface and ground water and intrusion of saline water and other contaminants. But despite high rainfall and numerous water sources, many districts in Kerala including Palakkad face scarcity of clean drinking water. The state as a whole suffers from one of the lowest per capita share of water and the lowest proportion of improved drinking water coverage as compared to other bigger states in the country. Moreover, in June this year Niti Aayog, a government think-tank reported India to be going through the worst water crisis in its history.

India has hundreds of century-old dams. The 52m high Mullaperiyar dam situated in Kerala is one such dam with years of repair behind it. Dams have been considered in several studies around the world as outdated systems for hydroelectric power and water management, with very adverse impact on ecological sensitive zones. 

The Gadgil report classified the Western Ghats into three ecologically sensitive zones and suggested sustainable and environmentally sound methods of development. This report was rejected by the central government, which preferred the Kasturirangam Commission’s report that provided a more watered down environmental regulation regime. The Pune-based ecologist Madhav Gadgil argues that had the policies in the 2011 report been implemented, the floods in Kerala wouldn’t have caused as much devastation as it has.  

Now, with the floods that have ravaged the state, the water problems are only going to get worse. Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials were quick to say that residents would have to depend on tanker trucks for water as they had stopped operating all the pumping stations for the time being. In the past week, as the situation worsened, drinking water became the most cherished commodity with thousands of liters of packaged water being sold and bought in the state. 

In 2012, among 28 tested states in the country Kerala was found to have the highest chemically or bacterially contaminated drinking in a study by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India. The contamination of iron, fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and bacteria among many other contaminants were found in sources of drinking water. The resources that do exist in the state continue to be underutilised and ill-maintained.

Due to the mixing of sewage and groundwater, a very high degree of contamination of coliform bacteria has been seen in the groundwater found in wells. With the floods, the situation has only been aggravated. About 80 per cent of drinking water needs are sustained by groundwater. And there is a high reliance on groundwater for meeting the domestic needs in Kerala, besides fulfilling the needs of irrigated agriculture. 

India has adequate freshwater. However, the problem is inefficient and wasteful use which, can be traced to the subsidy structure that “encourages using more inputs such as fertilizer, water and power, to the detriment of soil quality, health and the environment”, according to the Economic Survey 2015-16. Meanwhile, the Central Water Commission says that agriculture consumed around 85 per cent of total freshwater in 2000. Moreover, most states provide electricity either for free or at a flat rate, due to which there is, wasteful water extraction.

A lot of evidence does indeed point to the fact that the availability of groundwater as well as fresh water sources has been diminishing over the years. The changing patterns of water use and a growing demand for water due to high population density are a cause for concern.  

Currently, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) provides piped water supply to the state. However, there is no design for sustainable use of water sources, let alone optimization in usage of the little water that the state receives. This has to a great extent resulted in system failures. Additionally the implementation of schemes is very poor with irregular supply of water all over the state. Many fear that due to lack of will on the part of government, there is very little chance for improvement in the situation and that the state will be unable to efficiently manage its water.

Many experts argue that the traditional ways of water conservation have been lost. There is an over exploitation of groundwater resources without any steps taken to replenish the levels and this in turn has exacerbated the water crisis in Kerala. 

The solution?

The infrastructure for the treatment and storage of water is poor all over the country. To solve this problem, the state government should start thinking of setting up water collection and processing facilities in various areas. The Kerala government can easily adopt an integrated water resources management system (IWRM) to maximise economic and social welfare in the state. Citizens should be made to understand that management of water could take place through coordinated efforts. 

The Economic Survey and a 2015 International Monetary Fund (IMF) study both state that these subsidies disproportionately benefit rich and large farmers. A number of economists have suggested tapering off electricity and water subsidies. Targeted direct benefit transfers could be a solution especially with the Aadhaar Card and other financial inclusion drives that have laid the foundations for the Centre and states to do just that. 

IMF study reckoned that the more or less stagnant water prices in states paired with subsidy burden, the authorities are then left with little financial means to invest in the water management practices that would help provide ecologically sensitive and long-term solutions. These include the building of water treatment and recycling infrastructure.

Essential changes include crucial legislative ones. India has an antiquated legal framework to regulate groundwater. Since, it is considered a part of land, it gives landowners unrestricted entitlement to it, and the government is left with very little scope to act.

The roads, which come under basic infrastructural policies, need to be reworked to have pavements where the rainwater would flow into the sides to reach the processing facilities instead of the sewage. The roads would better and the city as a whole would benefit. 

Simultaneously, irrigation infrastructure must be upgraded. This should go hand in hand with research and development efforts focused on improving agricultural productivity with lower water usage. 

Furthermore, the government should generate awareness in the state about the sustainable use of water. Quite evidently rainfall is the main source for increasing groundwater levels but is also found to impact deeper aquifers. If systems are in place, the thus collected water can be sent to the processing facilities. Citizens can be provided with incentives to partake in rainwater harvesting techniques in their own homes. Adoption of community-based watershed management systems can also greatly help along with encouraging the recycling and reusing of water. 

Since the ecology around the rivers in the state have been significantly altered to suit human needs, the various dams in the state can now be used to provide water to the strategically located water processing facilities, especially during the monsoon season. It has been forecasted that in the coming years water scarcity will reach dangerously high levels. Abundance of water in the state could mean that water once processed could even be exported as a precious commodity to other states in the country.

Since the state of Kerala depends more or less on rainfall for its water supply, the changes in rainfall patterns that lead to occasional floods and droughts are crucial and need to be taken into account. 

A regular monitoring of demand and supply of water resources and water management systems would suffice to keep checks and balances. The water level has been steadily rising in the state’s largest dam, reaching dangerously close to it maximum capacity.  As the live updates of flooding in the state keep coming in, one can only hope with bated breath that such an ‘unprecedented situation’ does not ever arise in the future.