The Water Challenge (Letter to Aurovilians)

Dear Aurovilians,

It has been my privilege to work, for the past 4 years, as a consultant on the Green Belt plan for Auroville. During this time, I have come to know many of you, and to find a great deal of value in the effort you have undertaken to create this community aimed at forming a higher consciousness.

Recently, I participated in the Retreat at the Unity Pavilion, first with regard to the Bioregion, and then on the question of governance. On the issue of governance, I felt somewhat an outsider, since it is your world and your lives that are under discussion, and I left part way through the day feeling that I should not overly impose my views on the group.

However, after a sleepless night, I believe that there is an absolutely urgent message that I would like to convey to you in the hope that it will resonate with you as well.

In developing the Green Belt Development Plan, which was forwarded to L’Avenir in May of 2013, we had concluded that water was the critical element for organizing the interaction with the bioregion. Studies carried out by Water Harvest had shown that the underlying aquifers (the Kaluveli and the Ousteri) were being depleted by over-pumping. Auroville shares these aquifers with some 700,000 people, mostly living in villages and supporting themselves with farming and village crafts.

The aquifers serve the entire region – they cannot be protected over a small portion of the basin – it is all or not at all. Either we all have water or none of us will have it.

Unfortunately, we know that the coastal aquifer is already becoming saline and that villagers in Bommayarpalayam and Pillaichavady have already had to abandon using certain wells. The geology of the region is such that the same will happen to the two main aquifers, Kaluveli and Ousteri, if the pumping rate continues to exceed the rate of replenishment.

We know that one of the primary causes of over-pumping is the ill-conceived policy of providing free electricity to farmers to help boost their production. It provided them with no incentive to save water or to turn off their pumps when not needed. Political reality says that it would be impossible to undo this policy without severe repercussions, so another way must be found to conserve water.

Our plan urged that Auroville take the lead in helping to form a regional water compact that would ensure that each village and community within the bioregion gets a fair share of this common resource. I would add to this suggestion that it be reinforced by sharing Auroville’s accumulated knowledge in farming and water management in agriculture.

The effort to accomplish this challenge will meet all the goals and principles that have been discussed in the Retreat – and will require growth in all the areas that the Mother put forward as the basis for this grand experiment in human development: Goodness, Courage, Progress, Receptivity, Aspiration, Perseverance, Gratitude, Humility, Sincerity, Peace, Equality and Generosity.

If they fail, the aquifers will take thousands of years to be restored. Desalinization cannot supply enough water at an affordable cost for agriculture. And if only Auroville has a safe water supply, it will have no choice but to share it with the rest of the region.

This cooperative approach is the only possible sustainable vision for the region, and for Auroville.