Recent media images of Delhi’s urban poor chasing water tankers are a stark reminder of a ticking time bomb that has detonated under extreme heat and climate change. Over the past two centuries, cities have developed centralised, piped networks for delivering 24-hour water. While cities in the Global North have largely achieved this goal, those in the Global South, particularly regarding access for the urban poor, have fallen short. A significant portion of this population remains disconnected from essential water services.
Given the shortcomings of large, centralised municipal water systems, small-scale water vendors utilising tankers have emerged to bridge the water demand-supply gap. However, it's important to note that these vendors don't always source water legitimately. They often rely on resources from peri-urban and rural areas, such as groundwater aquifers.
This extraction strains water availability for farmers and local communities who depend on these aquifers for irrigation and domestic use. Studies show that groundwater depletion in peri-urban and rural areas around New Delhi and Bengaluru has also led to water cuts in the cities themselves.
Changing climate patterns, erratic monsoon rainfall, and growing urban infrastructure all contribute to the difficulty of groundwater recharge. Additionally, concretisation and tree felling further exacerbate the issue.
Water vendors frequently violate groundwater protection laws. For example, a 2019 research article I co-authored revealed collaboration between water sellers and local politicians in Hyderabad to bypass groundwater regulations under the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act (WALTA) of 2002. Local governing bodies like panchayats and city administrations, responsible for enforcing WALTA, are often implicated in the tanker water market themselves.
In cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru, water vendors have become part of the formal supply network with the support of local politicians. While this may address the needs of the urban poor, it also allows profiting from a shared resource. The quality and quantity of water from these tankers remain questionable.
Despite their drawbacks, the role of water tankers and vendors has undeniably increased due to the persistent failure of the formal piped network and the creation of a parallel water network by powerful actors. However, the discourse on water supply in large metropolitan cities still prioritizes expanding piped water infrastructure.
The reality is that both piped and non-piped technologies are crucial for a functional state-owned water delivery system, especially for the urban poor. City administrators often lack a proper understanding of how demand-supply management and climate change impact water sources.
Perhaps it's time to acknowledge the informal water tanker system and establish clear regulations for sourcing and protecting water resources. We need to move beyond simply replicating the “infrastructure ideal” of the Global North and recognise the unique context of Indian cities.
The focus should shift towards sourcing and conserving water at the city level, rather than relying on distant reservoirs and infrastructure. Creating space for “modest” approaches is necessary to develop water conservation alternatives within cities and comprehensively address existing and future challenges, particularly those induced by climate change.
“Modest imaginaries” (a combination of ideas, technology, and actors) can be characterised by local governance, affordability, and easy maintenance, while promoting inclusivity and community ownership.
Sections of this article are part of the cover story of the July 16-31, 2024 print edition of Down To Earth
Sumit Vij, Assistant Professor, Sociology of Development & Change, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth