Water can no longer be free -- It's logical

Water Bond

Global water use is increasing by over twice the rate of population growth. Improper management of water resources and industrial pollution are placing great barriers against access to safe drinking water in developing countries. Thus, water can no longer be free; one has to pay a price.  This trend was first seen with land, then food and now water. The poor often pay the price with their lives.  Every day, 3,800 children die and millions suffer from diseases associated with the lack of safe drinking water and proper water sanitation1.

Water is the cornerstone for human activity - agriculture and industry. Therefore, the development of a nation is dependent on water resources. Rapid economic growth cannot be sustained without attention to water. "Among China's 600 cities, 400 of them have water shortages," according to Mr. Ma Jun, the author of a major study on China's water resources. He says, "that water shortages could be the bottleneck to China's economic and social development."

2. Due to the scarcity of water, people are reaching to new depths and tapping into ground water reserves at an alarming pace (see map). Several agencies are trying to alleviate the problem by providing solutions to safe drinking water for poor. Please visit www.indiawaterportal.org  maintained by Arghyam. ( see pages ..)  For example, Naandi in Hyderabad offers a liters of water per person per day for Rs. 0.08 (US $0.018).  But this is three times more expensive than what a New Yorker pays for the same. The Government of India's Department of Drinking Water Supply, under ministry of Rural Development had a project lay out of over 1.1 Billion USD for rural and other water supply schemes and US
$2.347 billion for sanitation last year. Of this, approximately 50% of the funds were released. Only 25% of funds were spent on projects.

3    Why is there such a mismanagement or callousness when thousands are
dying and millions are affected every day? The Byrraju Foundation model of water purification system can serve 5,000 people per day with safe drinking water. India has 250,000 graam panchayats - village administrative units responsible for civic amenities.
Approximately 50,000 safe drinking water units are needed. to meet the needs of the most affected areas. The cost per plant at this scale of operation can be $10,000 USD. ( see article on page  ..) The total amount needed for setting up the plants will be $500 million or less as all the plants need not require reverse osmosis technology. These plants can generate money and be self-sustaining through payments made by the users.  Also these plants
can create some 250,000 -300,000 jobs for rural youth. Mr. Mani Shankar Iyer, Minister of the Panchayat Raj proposes a 'Public, Private and Panchayraj Partnership' (PPPP). Providing safe drinking water should be the partnership's most important task. It is an acheivable. The technology needed for this is available. As for scale and speed, one can
learn from the Akshaya Patra Foundation, which provides 535,557 hygienic and nutritious meals to underprivileged school children everyday in cooperation with governments in four Indian states and expanding to other states. Midday meal program as implemented by Akshayapatra is an excellent example of public private partnership. Similarly, India can develop a large scale safe drinking water program. The model can also be used by the other countries as well.

The most urgent and important task is to raise the $100 million, towards the partial cost of the proposed   PPPP  to set up water treatment plants, leveraging the Government's money for safe drinking water supply. This money can be raised as an investment, at a low interest rate, from individuals, corporations and institutions interested in seeing a developed India. A
water bond should be established. Bonds are a financing method by which money is raised through a promise to repay the face value amount at a fixed maturity date, as well as to pay interest on a fixed payment schedule. Reputed financial institutions and a team of dedicated NGOs should tap the 200,000 Indian millionaires and other philanthropists.  Chancellor Gordon Brown, London, UK has launched, in November 2006,  a £2.1 Billion bond
scheme aimed at saving 10 million children in the developing world from deadly diseases. When foreign direct investment to India is on target to hit US $13 billion in the year ending in March 2007, and foreign remittances to India now stand at $23 billion a year, raising $100 million, in the next one year, for such an important goal should be possible4,5.

1. www.unwater.org
 2. www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/392-Tackling-China-s-water-crisis-online
3. http://ddws.nic.in/
4. www.moneyweek.com/file/25513/three-reasons-to-invest-in-india.html
5. http://www.pr-inside.com/india-s-foreign-exchange-reserves-are-r51952.htm

Little or no water scarcity: Abundant water resources relative to use, with less than 25% of water from rivers withdrawn for human purposes

Physical water scarcity: More than 75% of the river flows are withdrawn for agriculture, industry, and domestic purposes

Approaching physical water scarcity: More than60% of river flows are withdrawn. These basins will experience physical water scarcity in the near future

Economic water scarcity:  Human, institutional, and financial capital limit access to water even though water in nature is available locally to meet human demands

Dr. Srinivasa Rao
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