GIS in Water Resources Final Project:

Examining Water Quantity and Quality in Delhi, India

By   Nishtha Mehta

Introduction

According to the UNHABITAT, more than 1 billion people across the globe live in ‘slums’. Approximately 98% of these slums are located in developing countries. UNHABITAT defines these slums as “areas that combine, to various extents, characteristics such as inadequate access to safe water, and other infrastructure, poor structural quality of housing, overcrowding, and insecure residential status” (emphasis mine). This implies that there are approximate 1 billion people across the world that do not have access to adequate water supply. Delhi, India houses approximately 6-8 million of these people.  This project explores the background of the problem of water scarcity for the poor and, as a case study, examines the quantity and quality of water available to the slum dwellers in Delhi, India.

World Water Stress

Image 1.1 indicates the locations in the world where water is becoming scarce. These regions are considered areas of high water stress. Water stress is defined as the proportion of the water intake to the inventory of water resources (UN, 2006).

Image 1.1            World Water Scarcity

Delhi

This image indicates that across the globe water scarcity is higher in developing countries. With Africa and South Asia being the most water stressed regions. India faces both economic and physical water scarcity. The north central part of India where Delhi is located is faces economic water scarcity.

Case Study – Delhi

Delhi is a large city of approximately 1465 sq km area in the north central region of India. Its geographic position is 28° 4' N and 77° 2' E.  It is also located within the basin of River Yamuna. Map 1.1 and 1.2 indicate the location of Delhi within India and within the Yamuna river basin.

Map 1.1  Delhi, India[1]

Map 1.2                Yamuna River Basin

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Delhi

None of the illegal slums in Delhi have any underground drainage, and only 3 percent had underground sewerage (Zehra, 2000). The drinking water quality in these colonies was found to be bad, and the water supply, none to very sporadic. Broken hand pumps and lack of piped connections  result in women having to travel long distances to fetch water (Baviskar, 2000). The water from hand-pumps is considered non-potable and it is not recommended to be used for drinking and cooking purposes (Government of India, 2005). This implies that the poor, often without knowledge and ability to filter the supplied water, are the most vulnerable to receiving non-potable water and, hence, most vulnerable to water-borne diseases.

Residents attempt to fill the gap between demand and supply by using coping mechanisms, such as storing water, stealing water from private connections, using water from place of employment (construction sites and private homes) and paying for water from private tankers. Chart 1.2 indicates the water sources for slums in Delhi.

Chart 1.2 Water Sources in Slums

Water Quantity

Delhi avails surface water from the Yamuna, Bhakra storage and Ganga water. Surface water is approximately 1150 MCM (million cubic meters). 290 MCM of groundwater is available per year. Ranney wells and tube-wells are included in this. Delhi's ground-water level has gone down by about eight meters in the last 20 years at the rate of about a foot a year (Rehman and Netzband, 2007).  Chart 1.1 indicates the various sources of water for Delhi.[2]

Chart 1.1              Sources of Water in Delhi

Map 1.3 indicates the declining ground water. The next section will expand on the water quantity issues in low income areas of the city. South Delhi has ground water at 40-50 m, which has declined approximately a foot since 2001 (Zerah, 2000).

Map 1.3 Ground Water Decline

A national survey conducted by the World Bank in 2006 found that only 40 percent of the households in Delhi have a 24-hour water supply, and approximately 25-percent have only 4 hours of service. The duration of water supply is the least reliable in slum communities (Truelove, 2001). Map 1.4 indicates the current water supply in different parts of Delhi in liters per capita per day. It also indicates the current water treatments plants in Delhi. Zehra (2000) has found that slums located near water treatment plants have better access to potable water. Currently, there are no water treatment plants located in South, North or West Delhi. The slum localities in these regions have access to only 35-40 lpcd of water.[3]

Map 1.4 Levels of Water Supply in Delhi[4]

Water Treatment Plants

Water Quality

World Bank (2006) has found that the water quality in Delhi slums is questionable. The water in slums is often stored in open buckets kept on the floor without a ladle to draw it (Lal, et al., 1996). This implies that the storage conditions can result in severe contamination and health risks. This also indicates a lack of access to safe water and water storage facilities affects the urban poor in Delhi significantly.  The pollution is not simply restricted to the stored water but is a large part of the water source – river Yamuna (Rehman and Netzband, 2007).

Map 1.5 Water Pollution in Yamuna[5]

The river Yamuna covers a 22 km stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla barrage in Delhi which is 2% of its catchments area. Delhi is responsible for approximately 80% of the river’s pollution (Rehman and Netzband, 2007). Nineteen major drains of Delhi deposit approximately 3000 million litres of water into the river per day, making Yamuna one the most polluted rivers in the world (Rehman and Netzband, 2000). This river is responsible for approximately 40% of water supply is for the city and any resident that uses the water without treatment is susceptible to water borne diseases.

In June of 2004, approximately 1000 cases cholera were reported in Delhi. This figure is more than three times the number of cases (207) reported for the same period in 2003. Diarrhea is endemic and is responsible for at least 15% of below 5 deaths in India. This implies that all water borne diseases when examined together affect a significant percentage of the Delhi population. This disease burden is borne disproportionately by the slum residents due to the lack of means to clean water and adequate water-storage facilities (Lal, et al., 1996). Image 1.2 indicates that India is no. 4 in the world in water related diseases (UN, 2004). It also indicates the water pollution and the burden on slums.[6]

Image 1.2            Water Borne Diseases

Conclusions

This analysis was greatly affected by the lack of available GIS data on India. Based on the available information, it can be concluded that the water access in slums is limited and unsafe. This situation, while examined specifically for Delhi, is replicated in most developing country cities. There also seems to be a wide gap between water related policies, and water use on the ground. It is necessary to conduct interdisciplinary research (including planning, design, policy and engineering professionals) to address this important problem. GIS can play a pivotal role in the research, in terms of delineating sources of water, water quality and how people access water in the city. GIS can also be used to document how water policies are translated onto use of water on the ground. I hope that, as a part of my research project, I can achieve this goal.

Maps, Charts and Images -Work Cited

Image 1.1 – CSPO

http://www.cspo.org/gck/images/pic_of_week/water_scarcity_map.gif

Map 1.2– Central Ground Water Board - http://cgwb.gov.in/watershed/index.html

Map 1.3 – Delhi Planning Board - http://delhiplanning.nic.in/Economic%20Survey/Ecosur2001-02/PDF/Chapter13.PDF

Map 1.3 – IDDRI - http://www.indiawaterportal.org/tt/urban/res/Maria_Urban-Crisis-Water-Delhi.pdf

Map 1.4 – Central Ground Water Board - http://cgwb.gov.in/watershed/index.html

Map 1.5 – Rehman, A and Netzband, M. 2007. An assessment of urban environmental issues using remote sensing and GIS techniques an integrated approach: A case study: Delhi, India. Paper presented in PRIPODE Conference - Urban Population, Development and Environment Dynamics in Developing Countries, Nairobi.  11th to 13th June, 2007.

Image 1.2 - Sustainable Water Solutions for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief . Accessed on December 1, 2008. www.skyjuice.com.au/images/map.gif

Other Work Cited

Zerah, M. H. (2000). Water: Unreliable Supply in Delhi. New Delhi: Manohar Publishers.

Baviskar, A. (2003). Between violence and desire: space, power, and identity in the making of metropolitan Delhi. International Social Science Journal , 55 (175), 89-98.

Lal, P; et al., (1996). Incidence of diarrhoea and some related environmental and behavioural factors in Jhuggis of Delhi. Indian Journal of Public Health. Vol 40 (2).

UNICEF (2005). Water, Environment and Sanitation Profile of India – UNICEF.                 http://www.unicef.org/wes/files/India_wes.pdf. Accessed on April 10th, 2008.

WHO and UNICEF (2002). India Assessment Report. Water Supply and Sanitation. Planning  Commission Government of India.

National Institute of Communicable Diseases (Delhi). http://nicd.org/home.htm. Accessed on April 20th, 2008.

Government of India (2007). State of Urban Health in Delhi.

Government of India Planning Commission. Five Year Plan 1951-  1956; 1980-1985, 1997-2002; 2002-2007. Available at http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/welcome.html (Accessed on 18th April 2008).

Davis, Jennifer. (2004). Corruption in public service delivery: experience from

South Asia’s water and sanitation sector. World Development 32 (1): 53-

Delhi Development Authority (DDA). (2005).  Draft Master Plan for Delhi 2021. http://www.urbanindia.nic.in/moud/what'snew/mps-eng.pdf

(Accessed on 20th April 2008)

Delhi Jal Board (DJB). (2007). The Delhi Jal Board. Available at   http://www.delhijalboard.nic.in/. (Accessed on 18th April 2008).

Rehman, A and Netzband, M. 2007. An assessment of urban environmental issues using remote sensing and GIS techniques an integrated approach: A case study: Delhi, India. Paper presented in PRIPODE Conference - Urban Population, Development and Environment Dynamics in Developing Countries, Nairobi.  11th to 13th June, 2007.

[1] Map was adapted from data on world wildlife conservatories found on wwf.org

[2] Adapted from Central Ground Water Board Data (2006)

[3] UN has found that 350lpcd water per person is sufficient access to the resource (UN, 2003).

[4] National Institute of Urban Affairs – Management of Urban Services 2005.

[5] From Rehman and Netzband (2007)

[6] Images from New York Times September 29, 2006. Somni Sengupta.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/29/world/asia/29water.html?fta=y