Given the way ground water is getting depleted for various reasons, Odisha may face a severe water crisis by 2051, revealed a study made by the SwitchON Foundation.
According to the study, parts of the State are yet to achieve the recommended daily drinking water target of 40 liter per capita per day (LPCD). While about 17 districts in the State have issues with saline groundwater, in many districts, the concentration of fluoride, nitrate, iron and chromium (hexavalent) are found to be above the permissible limits. Besides, there is huge wastage of water in the domestic sector. Due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and metering, around 54% of unaccounted water losses were observed within the system.
The availability of water by the year 2051 was assessed, and the result shows that the surface water availability from its own drainage boundary remains more or less fixed but the inflow of surface water from neighbouring States will be reduced from 37.556 billion cubic metres (BCM) to 25.272 BCM.
The study indicated that by the year 2051 the total water requirement may go up to 85 BCM from the present requirement of 55 BCM, and the State may face a severe water scarcity situation in 2051.
It recommended conservation of traditional wetlands for effective ground water recharge; desiltation/dredging of surface water bodies like streams, rivers and canals for better percolation and recharge of aquifers during monsoons; rejuvenation of dried up/deteriorated traditional water storage units like ponds, tanks etc; construction of artificial recharge structures based on a research of aquifer characteristics and land use surveys, apart from massive awareness programmes for promoting sustainable use of water, avoiding water wastages in agriculture and domestic sectors, including during supply and distribution etc.