In light of World Water Day, Avinash Kar (Staff Attorney, Health and Environment) and Vrinda Manglik (Fellow, International) decided to take a look at a country with a unique array of water challenges -- India.  I want to share with you what they wrote:

Antibiotics, sewage, pesticide?!  If you're one of 800 million Indians without reliable access to drinking water, these are some of the substances that might be in the water you drink each day.   

In a study published this year, Swedish researchers exposed astronomical levels of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of a town called Patancheru.  Roughly 90 chemical and drug companies have factories near Patancheru, most of which produce pharmaceuticals that are exported to Russia, Germany, and the US.  The study revealed 20 different types of pharmaceuticals in the supposedly-treated water, including enough of the powerful antibiotic ciproflaxin to treat 90,000 people daily.  When asked, a local mother of four explained, "We don't have any other source, so we're drinking it."       

But drugs aren't the only problem.  By all accounts, India's waters are extremely polluted.  The World Bank says, "Sewage and waste water from rapidly growing cities and effluents from industries have turned many rivers, including major ones, into fetid sewers."  The Central Pollution Control Board of India describes organic and biological contamination in water bodies as "critical."  Most of the surface and groundwater resources in India are polluted, according to the India Water Portal.  One report even estimates that as much as 90 percent of India's water resources are already contaminated.  Others estimate that over 75% of India's rivers and lakes are too polluted to bathe in.  Excessive pesticides, heavy metals, untreated sewage, domestic and industrial waste, animal corpses, and garbage are some of the most noxious materials in the mix.    A range of other water problems across the country - such as overstressed groundwater reserves - are only worsening the situation.   

Needless to say, the human impact of these water problems is profound.  According to the UN, more than 2.1 million people under the age of 5 die in India each year - largely due to lack of clean water and preventable waterborne diseases.  The World Bank estimates that by 2020 India's water demand will exceed all sources of supply. 

So, in honor of World Water Day 2009, it's high time to place water at the top of the global and Indian agendas and devise sustainable solutions for existing water problems.  India is fortunate to have a strong and active NGO community working on water issues.  But they face an enormous challenge.  While India recently committed to a 20 percent improvement in water use efficiency, this is insufficient.  A sweeping overhaul of India's water infrastructure is needed, including the need to hold multinational corporations accountable for any polluting operations conducted in India.  Making safe water and sanitation is a goal that all countries, including India, must adopt as a political priority.

India's window - our window - for action is small.  Climate change will undoubtedly complicate India's water problems, as changes in precipitation will affect agriculture and water availability across the country.  In the South, sea levels are expected to rise.  And in the North - melting Himalayan glaciers will diminish the water supply of some 2 billion people in India and China.  We're in deep water, and better act fast.