Asia's Water Woes

When you've got 60% of the world's population but just 36% of global freshwater resources and a rapidly growing population and industrialization, you've got some serious problems.   When you add wastage and massive contamination to the mix, you're heading into nightmare territory.

Such is the dilemma facing the South Asia/Asia region.

“A key source of water wastage in cities of developing countries in South and Southeast Asia is the high levels of water loss from leaking water pipes and in other parts of the water distribution system,” said Tan Cheon Kheong, a research associate at the Institute of Water Policy of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. “By fixing water leakages and addressing water pilferage, it is possible for water utilities in the region to cut the amount of water lost to less than 20 percent of their water supply.”

In Bangladesh, up to 50 percent of Dhaka’s water is lost due to substandard connections and leaking pipes, resulting in supply interruptions during peak demand hours, according to ADB.

New Delhi in India, a city of some 12 million, faces similar water shortages with long water cuts during summer when demand is high. Data from the Delhi Jal Board, which is responsible for water supply and treatment in the region, indicate that more than half of Delhi’s water is wasted because of leakages in the distribution pipeline, theft and poor revenue collection.

In Pakistan, data from Karachi Water and Sewage Board show that the city loses more than one-third of its water to pipe leakages and pilferage. 

In Indonesia, the Jakarta Water Supply Regulation Body estimates that 39 percent of the capital city’s water is wasted as a result of pipe leaks in the distribution network and theft, while 40 percent of the 10 million residents have no piped water.

...According to the 2012 UN World Water Development Report (WWDR4), 480 million people in Asia lack access to improved water resources, while around two billion do not have access to improved sanitation. “In many Asian cities the poor have inadequate access to water supplies. Leaks reduce the prospect of extending services as they increase the costs of water supply compared to revenue from water user fees,” Jamie Pittock, a leading expert on water governance at the Australia National University, explained.
 
Urban water is also lost as a result of a lack of appreciation of its economic and environmental value.

“Parts of South Asia are extremely water scarce, in part due to poor policies that encourage misuse - for example, electricity subsidies that contribute to excessive pumping of groundwater that is dramatically depleting aquifers,” says Pittock .

If you've spent time in the Third World you're apt to be familiar with the sight of fresh water bubbling up through broken pavement and pouring along gutters into storm sewers.   Often there's simply no money to repair aging and broken infrastructure.    Authorities try to offset some of the losses by rotating water outages that can last for several hours or even days with the predictable impacts on sanitation and health.