Where’s All My Water?

If you aren’t living under a shell, you know India's mismanagement of water resources is leading it to a water crisis. Hydrologist Pradeep Mujumdar’s talk, as a part of Science Gallery Bengaluru’s Confluence series carried you deeper into the understanding the water crisis. 

In his talk, Pradeep focused on what caused the floods in Marathwada, Kerala and Chennai. While may want to think of  as isolated events, he addressed how interconnected they are with our ecosystem.

The forests act as a water balancing system, where plants release water vapour and water percolates into the soil into our aquifers. When forests are cleared, the negative externalities that come with it are almost never considered. 

We waste a lot of fresh water due to  low efficiency in irrigation and transportation of water for irrigation. Only about 30% of the water we use is in farming contributes to the  yield. 

Pradeep took us through some early solutions implemented by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). Their team set up low-cost small handheld computers that would allow farmers to keep track of water use. Apart from this he mentioned how incentivizing water conservation among farmers can also help us save freshwater annually.

He also spoke of humans as drivers of anthropogenic climate change. Construction of dams, redirection of water, clearing of forests - all these impact has on our hydrological cycles. In urban areas, the cemented surrounding prevent catchment and later percolation, which means groundwater recharge is negligible. 

One of  the solutions he offered was that of a comprehensive water recycling system with a catchment area and recycling plant to upcycle water. This is already being used in the IIsc campus. While the initial cost of setting it up is high, it is an investment which pays off in the long-term. 

Pradeep’s talk provided insight and scientific thought to the issues of water crisis which are usually consumed passively. Post the talk, a group of young adults also got the chance to interact with Pradeep in a tutorial session, where they discussed his talk, understood his work better and found ways of contributing to the field of water conservation. 

By Yamini Undurthi, Mediator