Battling the water crisis

Auroville Today: Are Auroville and the bioregion facing a water crisis?

Yes. We are missing important data so we don’t know exactly which areas are affected the most, but even with the rough data we have, we know that this region is way out of balance: far more water is being extracted than is being recharged.

Why are we missing this crucial data?

Water Harvest was keeping records of wells in the bioregion and Auroville for a number of years. This programme was supported by external donors, but after 2008 they stopped funding it. Their argument was that India is rich enough to support this kind of programme. So, regretfully, I had to stop the data collection. Now Tom and others are starting it up again.

How long will it take to get the data you need?

About 2 -3 years, because you have to document the annual cycle of rain, which varies year by year, and deduct from that the amount of water that is being extracted from the different borewells.

Presumably until you have the data you cannot adequately plan a water management system. But does this mean we can do nothing in the interim?

You don’t always need all the data to find out what the problem is and to start doing things. I don’t need data at the moment to construct tanks to harvest rainwater. We could already have developed a rainwater catchment plan for Auroville as we know how much rain is falling annually and we know what we need to do to catch it. Unfortunately, we have not done this.

The other thing we can start doing immediately is replacing the underground water supply pipes and generally upgrading the water infrastructure in our communities.

At present, we lose between 20% – 50% of the water through leakages in the pipes, so changing the pipes would immediately make a huge difference. We have added 30% more connections to the big ‘elephant’ tank in the last 3 years, but overall we give less water today because we have changed the pipes and eliminated the leaks.

Looking at the supply side, where do you think that our water will come from in the future?

We have three main sources. We have rainwater, groundwater and seawater. Recycled wastewater is also an important resource we should make more use of in the future. For rainwater we need to develop rainwater harvesting on a large scale. The study that Gilles Boulicot made for the Matrimandir area is excellent and its principles can definitely be applied elsewhere.

For groundwater, once we have the necessary data we can do artificial recharge and normal recharge of the aquifers. Desalinated water will start on a relatively low scale but this can be increased over time.

So the people involved with water management need to sit round a table and look at these different possibilities – groundwater, rainwater and desalination – and see if they can find a way of balancing these different inputs. I think if we can decide upon this and draw up a comprehensive plan, we can solve our water management problem.

The last time we spoke you wanted to prioritise the supply of desalinated water over other sources.

I have changed my mind somewhat because, after reading Gilles’ report, I can see that rainwater harvesting also has a lot of potential. Personally, I don’t think we should develop just one resource; we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket. The challenge is to find the right balance between the different resources and then to decide what each should be used for. I don’t think, for example, we should use desalinated water for agriculture. It should be used for home use.

Are you still in favour of a centralised water distribution system for Auroville?

Very much so. The present situation in Auroville is far from optimal. We have 154 borewells and we have as many systems as we have borewells. Some people have access to plentiful water, some have very little; some get good quality water, some poor; some pay a lot for their water, some pay very little. These differences are unacceptable. Water is a basic necessity, so we should have a water supply where everybody gets good quality water, and if something goes wrong there should be a service available that puts it right.

The only way to ensure this is a centralised system. It will take time, but I feel very committed to achieving this. Now we are focusing on putting in a ring of pipes along the Crown Road so that, in the future, we can connect as many parts of the city as possible from this ring. Once the system is established, the inputs – from groundwater, rainwater or desalinated water – can be inserted into this system anywhere as long as the pressure is the same. We don’t have to have different pipe systems for different sources.

What about the greenbelt? Will this also be connected to this central water distribution system?

Yes. If we cannot reach certain communities at first, for some time they will have to take care of themselves. But as soon as we can connect them we have to connect them because, again, it is a matter of everybody having equitable access to good quality water.

I think that when we have an idea of where we want to extract in the long-term, the next question is how many wells we need. We have over 150 borewells in Auroville at present, and the sinking of wells is totally unregulated. In certain parts of Europe, you need an Environmental Impact Assessment before you can sink a well. You are told that if you sink a well, you have to ensure the recharge is so much and you are not allowed to extract more than a certain amount of water. So I think we need to start looking at regulating the drilling of wells in Auroville, not only to limit extraction but also to ensure the quality of the water.

Given the urgency of the situation, would you favour a total ban on digging new wells in Auroville? Or on drilling into the deeper aquifer?

No, you can’t do that. When, as happened recently at Transition School, you have a situation where there is no water and no possibility of connecting to an existing source, you have to drill a new well, and it has to be deep if it is to serve a larger area. In this case, it meant drilling into the third aquifer as the second aquifer could not provide sufficient water. The recently established Water Group need to look into solving this ‘grey-area’ and they will. But there are many more grey areas which have to be looked into also.

Are differences among the members of the Auroville Water Group also impacting the way we respond to the present crisis?

Yes. We can’t agree upon the necessity to regulate the digging of wells. This is not even a topic of discussion at present.

But if you all have access to the same data, would that not be sufficient to come up with a unified solution?

No. There are many different ways of responding. Even if all the data is put on the table, we could still come up with three different solutions. Our decisions are not just influenced by technicalities like cost but also by what people believe in, their preferences. These are the challenges but I am committed to finding an agreement we can all live with.

Even if we came up with a perfect solution for water management in Auroville, we would continue to be heavily dependent upon what is happening in the larger bioregion where huge amounts of water are being extracted for agriculture. What can be done about this?

There are more than 6000 wells in the bioregion, with half of them going deeper than 140 metres into the third aquifer. They are pumping vast amounts of water, and the digging of wells is totally unregulated. In other words, it is a mess.

When Water Harvest ran programmes for local farmers, Harvest set up Water Users Associations, introduced drip irrigation and organic dry land farming, and helped set up a distribution and marketing system. We saw that after a few years it was a success, and something like 60% less water was being used by these farmers.

But we were dealing with only 154 farmers and there are many more in the bioregion. We must get all of them to the same point. For this, you need a programme running for at least 4 – 5 years because it doesn’t just involve changes in farming methods. It also involves education, social organization, and setting up new distribution and marketing chains. Once the markets are established, there is a higher likelihood that the new practices will be maintained.

I’m convinced that changing to organic, dry land farming and drip irrigation is the way forward in terms of water conservation and guaranteeing a livelihood for the local farmers. On the supply side, we need to do much more about rainwater catchment in the bioregion, and perhaps some desalination has to be factored in.

The problem is not just the scale we need to work on. We also lack sufficient people with the skills to run such programmes, maintaining the infrastructure is a big challenge, and there is insufficient funding. This is why the Water Associations became dormant.

Have the farmers who were in this programme continued to use the new farming and water-conservation practices?

We have not checked, but it would definitely be good to find out and to revive these Associations.

Surely, in the end, it is the Government that could make the biggest difference. If the State decided that the farmers had to start paying for the electricity that runs their pumps, wouldn’t that make a big difference to how much water is extracted and wasted?

Absolutely. At present, electricity is free and the cost of pumps is heavily subsidised. But this is the situation because a huge proportion of voters are farmers. Which political party will risk losing this large vote bank by charging the farmers for the electricity they use?

In fact, the people who work for the government are very aware of the situation, and they have good ideas about the way ahead. The problem, as always, is in the implementation. And the farmers themselves are not stupid. When you sit with them and explain the whole situation, they are willing to change. But they need financial support to make the necessary shift in practices.

Do we have time? The programme you are describing will take many years as well as major funding and expertise. Yet we hear that the bioregion may be facing the imminent desalination or exhaustion of its aquifers.

We have to do these things. Besides, I don’t believe that if we don’t achieve this tomorrow, everything will collapse. We are blessed with quite a lot of rainfall, desalination is coming, and there are parts of the aquifers which are still quite okay. Like water itself, nothing is static, so we should not become obsessed with doomsday scenarios.