Questions
Strategy for improving urban drinking water supply - Arguments supporting the issue that 24/7 water supply is wasteful
From David Foster, Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad
Posted 16 February 2009
The discussion process
- “24/7 water supply is wasteful as it requires too much water and would not be sustainable for most Indian cities”
- “24/7 water is too expensive for India. The poor can’t afford it and the rich don’t need it”
- “24/7 water supply, even if it could be achieved, would be inequitable to the poor, far better to ration water by hours of supply so that rich and poor alike have equal access”
- “24/7 water supply is a needless luxury good, no one needs water 24 hours per day”
I will like to discuss each of the issues around 24/7 water supply, given above, to determine if they are genuine obstacles, major but surmountable challenges, or only simple misunderstandings.
Issue # 1 “24/7 Water Supply Is Wasteful”
- Will a 24/7 water supply encourage people to conserve or waste water?
- Does a well-managed continuously pressurized (24/7) water supply system necessarily requires more water than the typical systems seen in most Indian cities?
- How much water, in litres per capita per day (LPCD), is normally required to operate a 24/7 system?
The results of this discussion will feed into the on-going policy debate at the Administrative Staff College of India and help us to develop a framework on continuously pressurized water supply for cities.