India’s problems with water may be big, but let’s look at making small changes to mitigate the crisis, says Altered’s Mikael Abbhagen

As the saying goes – water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. Sounds too grim to be real? Despite living in a water-world, we see so many urban centers of the world facing a paucity of portable water already. In India cities like Chennai and Bangalore are grappling with procuring portable water from Natural sources. In Delhi- NCR’s Gurgaon, rapid urbanization has led to such a pressure on the water-table that some fear ground-water could be totally depleted in the near future.

The UN believes individual countries need to up the ante on water conservation in order to safeguard their future on a war footing. In India, with the population expected to cross the 1.6 billion-mark by 2050, we can imagine what kind of pressure the population will exert on this Natural Resource.

There is not one solution to the problem. There are several approaches to mitigate the challenge. Whether its measures like rain-water harvesting or change in policies and politically driven infrastructure regulations – an entire gamut of measures need to be implemented in tandem to tackle the water challenge headlong.

Having said that, there is one aspect that cannot be ignored- personal water wastage and it’s inefficient use. Leaking pipes, old technology and quite honestly, plain old disrespect for water-on-tap. If we calculate our one-time use patterns and we will realize that we can save an ample amount each time we wash hands, brush teeth, bath, cook or clean. When the effort is collective, small measures can make a huge difference. 

We need reliable and clean water for our survival. In a manner of speaking, this natural Resource is something we’ve inherited and it’s up to us to preserve it. In this context, technology exists today in the form of aerators that reduce our consumption drastically, while retaining the functionality of the resource. A one time investment, they fit into existing faucets and alter your perspective towards water management for the better. Invest in a quality product that lasts long, to make a start. A big problem with a small solution, it would seem.

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