The World Health Organization (WHO) published a report on the State of the World’s Drinking Water. The report indicated that approximately two billion people, 25% of the global population, do not have access to safe drinking water, which kills more than 1.5 million people annually.
The significance of purified water for maintaining good health was recognized about 2400 years ago by Hippocrates –– the ancient Greek physician––often referred to as the "father of medicine." In the early 1800s, it became evident that unsanitary living conditions resulted in water contamination and the spread of diseases. This understanding led to the implementation of sewage systems, which employed processes like filtration to combat cholera, followed by the introduction of chlorination to prevent typhoid.
In India, water quality has long been a health concern due to historical practices of discharging industrial effluents from mills, slaughterhouses, and other industries into rivers. Additionally, reports suggest that around 70% of India's sewage is dumped into rivers daily, polluting both surface water and groundwater, which supplies water to 40% of the population.
This is not a new issue for India. On October 25, 1900, there was a letter from Karl to the Montreal Star newspaper. The headline read: Water in India is very bad. It is of many colours, like Joseph’s Coat. The letter said: “The water of India is very bad; it is taken from ponds where water buffalo lie by the dozen and natives bath by the score. It is of different colours, principally red, black and brown. It is a wonder that more people do not die from the plague. To obtain a drink of water from a local, one must say “Parni Murita” (I want water), and at the same time hold out his hands, into which the person pours the water from a brass jug.”
While I'm unsure about the various colours of water that Karl mentioned, I can attest to the fact that I refrained from consuming tap water during my stay in India. Although significant efforts have been made to enhance water quality in numerous major cities, the piping infrastructure has not continually been adequately upgraded, potentially leading to adverse effects on downstream water quality. To safeguard against illnesses, it is strongly advised to rely on bottled water or utilize the reverse osmosis process available in many hotels, which effectively purifies rainwater.
And now, compounding the issue, as a result of a significant increase in population, water quantity is also an issue in India. Climate change is resulting in more droughts which is coupled with India’s rapid population growth and urbanization. Essentially, the water demand will soon exceed the supply, further threatening the population's health with 18% of the global population but only about 4% of the world's renewable water resources. This disparity between population and available water resources contributes to India being considered one of the most water-stressed countries in the world.
It’s a moral conundrum for travellers. You want to be safe from illness and mindful of not contributing to environmental issues with single-use plastics. But now, the greater concern is less about the quality of India’s water than the reduced availability of water.
Water is no longer everywhere.
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