Water security for Indore city - ImagineIndore.org

eventuality with the active role and participation of poor and weaker sections among thecity residents.2 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY (ASSIGNMENT RATIONALE)The GCM and RCM both have predicted climate changes in Indore which, in future,will bring about with it the significant changes in the hydrology of the region by bringingmore events of droughts and extreme floods. The present and future water resourcessurfaceand ground water both- will be impacted thus affecting the water security in thecity. The city water supply already suffers from lower per capita water supply,inequitable distribution, practice of charging rich and poor on flat tariff basis, highertransmission and distribution losses resulting into higher percentage of Non-RevenueWater (NRW), lack of sound water demand strategies. Presently about 54% of populationhave access to piped water supply.16% population which is about 320,000 are residing in slum areas. By tradition andconvention this segment are given lower priorities in the planning process and are notgiven any participatory role in implementation of water security planning. They do nothave access to piped water supply and receives less than 40 LCPD from eithercommunity stand post or municipal tankers. Ironically, most of them also constitute asignificant part of 30% of city’s population affected adversely due to flooding and waterlogging in the city. The poor and slum dwellers, as a fait-accompli receive inadequate &unsafe drinking water in summer and during floods. They can not afford the capital &recurring cost of domestic water connection because of high flat tariff and lack of crosssubsidies. Rapid growth of population and urbanization will give rise to more unplannedslum clusters in the city thereby further accentuating their problems. Due to climatechanges, the water security for above section of population will be more adverselyimpacted. Therefore, there is a need to assess the impacts of climate changes on watersecurity in the city with particular reference to the poor and slum dwellers. Theadaptation options to build resilience of city’s poor in particular and city in general are tobe kept handy for implementation with the active participation of affected stake holdersso that equity, security and quality of drinking water supply is ensured and guaranteed.The assessment of impact and formulation of adaptation strategies will necessarily needto address various important sectoral issues relevant to water supply. These issues rangefrom improvement in the efficiency of present water supply, implementing schemes foraugmentation of water supply to take care of future growth, adopting suitable WaterDemand Management(WDM) and Water Supply Management (WSM) Strategies topromote equitable distribution, reduce NRW, increase public awareness and build publicconfidence in the delivery system. Other issues affecting the sector such as depletion ofgroundwater, high electricity bill, lack of active maintenance, metering of waterconnection, zoning and providing bulk metering, carrying out water and energy audit, useof GIS in line maintenance and gradual transition to a commercial venture shall also beaddressed in the study. The need of Industrial demand of water will also be assessed inabove contest. Role of recycling of waste and its reuse, and rainwater harvesting willalso need to be analyzed.It is expected that with the implementation of adaptation strategies, the management willswitch over to sound practices of water supply management from present practice ofcrisis management. The study will prove useful in reviewing the water supply servicesand water need in the context of potential impacts of climate change and would catalyzeattention of policy makers, Governments and people who matter in evolving climate9