Water auditing and recycling as a tool for management of water resources: an Indian perspective

Abstract

Water is limited and is unevenly distributed globally. India being home to approximately 18% of the global population accounts for only 4% of global renewable water resources, making it the world’s 13th most water-stressed country. The increase in human population coupled with accelerated economic activities and climate change has put enormous pressure on government and policymakers in India to find different innovative and smart ways to manage the demand–supply gap in the water sector. Despite having the largest water infrastructure in the world and concerns raised about increasing water crisis in national discourse at academic, policy and governance levels, the tangible outcome does not resonate adequately on the ground level. Identification of alternate tools, calibration and fine-tuning relevant policy and planning necessitate the need of implementing water auditing and water recycling to meet the ever-increasing water demand as far as the water footprint in India is concerned. Based on the principle of what gets measured gets managed, water auditing best caters to the water management needs and is yet to become a top priority to curb the water crisis. Public acceptance seems to be one of the major barriers in universalizing water recycling in India which is aggravated by the uneven and/or absence of a proper and adequate water governance approach and structure. This paper tries to highlight the major challenges water resources management is facing in India and aims to illustrate how well planned water auditing and water recycling as a tool can deliver in effective and rational utilization and distribution of water.