In need of a water solution

The results of the survey conducted by the Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation (FRRD) are disturbing.

The results of the survey conducted by the Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation (FRRD) are disturbing. The findings point to the continuing apathy when it comes to treating water to make it fit for human consumption. The only positive aspect of the report is that the survey was commissioned because officials in the Health Ministry were alert enough to link the increased cases of fluorosis among children in west Delhi’s cluster of villages with groundwater contamination. The results confirmed that groundwater in Delhi’s Palam zone was untreated and that over 35 per cent of children below eight were fluorosis-afflicted.

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In India, the problem of water contamination continues to be particularly severe. As many as 200 districts across the country suffer from high fluoride concentration in groundwater. This is highlighted by a recent WHO-Unicef study on the country’s water supply and sanitation that quantifies this spread in over 17 states, and affects a population of nearly 30 million, with another 66 million described as a ‘population at risk’. Fluorosis may be the least of health worries, but fluoride isn’t the only contaminant. Arsenic (which affects nearly 15 million people in West Bengal), varying levels of iron (particularly in the North-east) and heavy metals like lead, nickel, chromium, zinc, copper and manganese, besides nitrates and bacteriological contamination in ground water, all serve as slow poison. Things can only worsen, given that India is heading towards a freshwater crisis due to improper management of its water resources. The quality of groundwater is severely affected by widespread and uncontrolled water pollution. Besides, discharge of untreated wastewater through bores and leachate from unscientific disposal of solid wastes also contaminate groundwater.

It’s time the government implemented effective groundwater legislation and encouraged self-regulation by communities and local institutions. If need be, external support agencies could be roped in for freshwater resource management and household water security. That said, no legislation or traditional water harvesting system would help resolve the freshwater crisis, unless conservation activities — from water extraction to water management — are integrated and communities educated.