Spotlight : Water Crises in Gurgaon

Each summer the water problem in Gurgaon is worse than the last. With growing population, the demand for water is rising sharply. However, water supply is grossly inadequate and has actually fallen from previous levels in certain areas of Gurgaon. Private water tanks ferrying water to residences is a common sight and has in fact become a lucrative business. Residents are burning a hole in their pockets to procure water for their daily needs.

The problem is not just restricted to water supply. New construction has led to a sharp decline in the water table of Gurgaon. Rainwater harvesting has not been used in a way it should be to replenish and reclaim water. Rainwater harvesting just remains a fancy (and much hyped) term. Efforts to augment water supply sources have also come to a nought.

Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) is responsible for the supply of water in Gurgaon. HUDA's treatment plant in Basai gets water from the Gurgaon Water Supply canal, maintained and run by the irrigation department. The daily supply is 140 cusecs - and apart from HUDA, the water is allotted to HSIIDC and the public health department too.

HUDA has been criticized for lack of adequate infrastructure for water supply. It has also been criticized for not showing transparency in communicating where actually the problem lies. "HUDA claims that it is treats 80 cusecs of raw water and distributes the same throughout the city. Assuming that the population of Gurgaon is 20 lakhs, water supply allowance per capita per day works out to be 96 litres. However, many colonies including posh colonies like DLF Phase I and Phase III do not get water supply even at the rate of 50 liters per capita per day," points out a prominent resident of the city. Obviously, there are either issues with the way the water is distributed or with the actual water availability.

HUDA should surely be held to task. However, left to it alone we can't expect things to change suddenly. engineers, contractors, hydrologists, NGOs, Resident bodies will all have to come together to find a solution to this serious issue. As residents, we also need to do our bit to use water judiciously as well as adopt measures to conserve it.

Some of the suggestions and recommendations for improving water supply and encouraging water conservation have been listed below:

• Setting up dedicated Basai Canal water pipelines in all colonies of Gurgaon.
• Rainwater harvesting units should be set up throughout Gurgaon.
• Building catchments around the foothills of the Aravalis will help in capturing the flowing water. Usually, surplus rainwater ends up flooding low-lying areas of the region, and flows unrestrained into the Najafgarh drain. If there is a mechanism to block all the excess water near places like Narangpur, Vilaspur, Nathupur and Sikanderpur, it will make a lot of difference.
• Using the sewer water effectively is also another solution. About 110 million gallons of sewage is generated in the city every day.
• All this sewer water should be sent through primary and secondary treatment by all agencies, and used for construction and plantation purposes.
• Power failure has been one of the causes for faulty or erratic water distribution at Basai plant and its boosting stations at Sector 16 and 51. Full power back-system up at these stations to maintain uninterrupted water distribution.
• The city should be divided into zones of 1 lakh population each and each zone should an equal supply of water. Projects that distribute sewage treatment and rainwater harvesting projects should be allocated to these zones.
• It is suggested that HUDA should correctly and transparently intimate the public through a daily bulletin as to how much water it is treating on a daily basis and how it is distributing the water in various sectors and zones.