Issues:
1. Overly-Intensive Extraction for Irrigation: According to the CPCB, so much water is being extracted from the Ganga (80% of which is for irrigation) that “in absence of adequate flow, unabated discharge of treated sewage, even with 100% treatment… cannot bring the river water quality to bathing level in lean season flow.”
2. Wasteful Irrigation: Due to outdated systems of flood irrigation, some 50% of the water taken from the Ganga for irrigation is lost to evaporation and other factors before it can nourish a single crop.
3. Increased Depletion and Toxicity of Groundwater: In addition to over-extracting the Ganga, the agricultural sector is depleting groundwater tables to the extent that vast populations are increasingly prone to being poisoned by the arsenic and other toxic chemicals that leech into waters extracted from increasingly deeper and dryer wells.
4. The Problems of Electricity Subsidies for Irrigation: Generous electrical subsidies have enabled farmers to leave their irrigation systems on day and night, resulting in needless wastage of an increasingly-precious resource, and placing our nation at greater risk becoming drier and thirstier. As our water tables diminish and become increasingly toxic, more of the Ganga will be extracted by sheer necessity.
5. Cities are Furthermore Draining our Aquifers: By the time the Yamuna reaches Delhi, for example, every last drop has been drained from it in order to nourish the growing city. A sizable portion of this water is lost through bad infrastructure, such as poorly assembled pipelines.
6. Diversion of Water for Hydroelectric Power: Certain hydro projects are channeling away vast stretches of the Ganga into side canals or underground tunnels, leaving behind kilometers of dry rocks. This destroys marine ecosystems, while robbing populations, plants and animals of the water they need to survive. Additionally, as we have seen from previous disasters, certain dams threaten to dangerously obstruct the river, leading to greater threats to lives and property.
Solutions:
1. An Ecologically-Sound Flow Must Be Maintained at All Times: We recommend that an average flow of 51% of river water be maintained in the Ganga’s natural river bed at all times, in order to properly support the Ganga’s renowned biodiversity, to dilute toxins and to enable people to access their inalienable rights to water.
2. Water-Saving Irrigation is Essential: Replacing flood irrigation with methods such as drip irrigation would significantly reduce the amount of water needed to be extracted from the Ganga and ground water tables. Studies have shown that drip irrigation results in less labor and fertilizer use, less waste, less water lost to evaporation, and higher yields than traditional flood irrigation. All the while, the method has application efficiencies of up to 90%, in contrast to the 50% efficiency of field irrigation.
3. Replace Electricity Subsidies with More Beneficial Support: Electricity subsidies, which are enabling far too many farmers to over-extract well water, should be gradually replaced with improved and wide-spread subsidies, technical assistance and marketing support for water-saving irrigation and organic farming methods. Such actions must ensure as a priority that small-share and poor farmers are safeguarded from poverty and are enabled to reap better economic benefits. These actions, which will help to preserve a great deal of water, can equally prove instrumental towards improving national food security and decrease poverty for the long-run.
4. Promote Water-Sustainable Cities: Public education, coupled with a rewards and penalty system should encourage every citizen to think twice before turning on the taps, encourage every to repair issues in their pipelines, and for less water to be expended for car washing, private green ways and other trivial uses. In addition, the city of Chennai should be looked to as an example. They encourage mass public participation in rainwater harvesting. Such practices should be subsidized and made mandatory everywhere.
5. Mandate Grey Water Reuse and Recycling: The nation of Israel successfully re-uses 70% of its treated waste water for agriculture. It is time that India, which supports 17% of the world’s population with 4% of the world’s fresh water, follow suit. In addition, households and businesses should be granted incentives-alongside mass public awareness programs-that encourage reusing grey water and treated water from STPs for the flushing of toilets, industrial use, lawn and garden irrigation and other non-drinking-related reasons.