Urban Water Management in India: An Analysis

Abstract: Today urban area is growing very past with the challenges of infrastructure facilities, among basic facilities water is a critical natural resource for the growing urban areas. Commercial, residential, and industrial users already place considerable demands on this resource, which often requires treatment, may be located at great distance from the city, and is almost always in demand by multiple sectors. According to the UNDP 2006 report, the industrial and domestic water demand expected to double by 2050, competition among urban, semi-urban, and rural areas will likely worsen. Today the world’s population has reached 7 billion, and more people live in cities than in rural areas, yet the benefits of city life are not available to all. Water Management involves the fields of Proper water supply, Maintenance of urban drainage, wastewater treatment and sludge handling. The challenges facing today’s major cities are daunting, and water management is one of the most serious concerns. Potable water from pure sources is rare, other sources of water must be treated at high cost, and the volume of wastewater is growing. Urban water management is now on the verge of a revolution in response to rapidly escalating urban demands for water as well as the need to make urban water systems more resilient to climate change. At the same time, because of climate change, more frequent and extreme weather events are expected to alter the quality, quantity, and seasonality of water available to urban centers and their surroundings. Cities are facing a series of challenges: on-going urbanization, resource depletion and emissions, an ageing and deteriorating urban water supply infrastructure and the effects of climate change. To meet these challenges and to be able to drive sustainable economic growth, cities need to become smart and tap their innovation potential through the use of Information and Communication Technologies; this will allow us to create cities with a smaller water footprint overall. Urgent actions are needed to combat water stress, to remedy the vulnerability of infrastructures, and to modify water use patterns in agricultural, industrial and domestic processes