When the water runs out
No one expects to run out of water — until they do. Perspectives from Mexico and India.
I wake up and splash cool water on my face, deviating from my sleep state for the first time in the day. I brush my teeth and brew a cup of coffee. Water burbles in the kettle and the day has begun.
The first sip finally wakes me up. Being a disturbed sleeper, the smell of strong coffee in the mornings has been a constant in my life. The silent accomplice the whole while has been water. Be it the splash in the morning the water in my coffee or the water it takes to make coffee beans. It takes an estimated 840 liters to make a pot of coffee (750 ml).
It would be a nightmare if I had to calculate every drop of water that I had to use. The nightmare would truly be hell if I had to do this for months together. I might make irrational choices such as drinking a cup of coffee instead of using water to cook food.
This nightmare is currently unfolding in Mexico which is facing an acute water crisis. The Cutzmala system which serves water to over 20 Million residents in the Valley of Mexico is facing a shortage. It is 44% lower than what it should be at this time of the year.
Mexico itself has had 25% rainfall overall compared to the average rainfall in the past 30 years. ElNino and heat waves intensified by climate change have been identified as the cause.
Officials will be restricting the water flow by 25% a steep cut, the duration of this is expected to last till May, and that is if it rains by May. If it doesn’t there would be steeper cuts for longer duration of time.
Where I live in Karnataka, India, there has been a drought this year intensified by Climate change. In a bizarre coincidence, the rainfall deficit is the same in Karnataka and Mexico at 25%
There is a water tussle between Karnataka and its neighboring state Tamil Nadu over the river Cauvery. Farmers in both states are protesting for their share of water as the season for cultivation is upon them. However there is simply no way both sides get more water than what they are getting at the moment. The rate at which both the states are consuming water is way more than what is being replenished.
The rainfall deficit in Karnataka has changed the landscape. And this shows when you visit the villages or take a road trip, there is a sense of drought in the air. Dry cakey land, lack of green cover, and an ever-present heat threaten you at every instance.
Climate change is expected to intensify and increase these situations. While it is directly felt by those under the crisis, those in cities are blissfully unaware.
In the city, we live in our own bubble. We open the tap and there is water, there is water in the office and if we are really thirsty we can buy a plastic bottle of water.
Water shortage seems like a doomsday scenario in an alternate world. It feels like the problem of someone who is staying in a parched land hundreds of kilometers away, who is pumping away at a borewell for that last drop of water, but the insidious truth is it is unfolding right under our feet.
It is right here, in the increasing cost of agricultural produce, in the way water tankers are zooming in and out of Bangalore, in the deaths of people who drank contaminated water, and in the depleting green cover.
Both in Mexico and Karnataka there is an immediate response in the form of digging more wells, and going deeper to find water.
Going deeper is a band-aid solution to the water crisis and comes with its own challenges. It takes more energy and cost to go deeper, and deeper water might not be directly usable due to heavy mineral concentrations
And when nothing works governments ration water indiscriminately. It is not their fault, they do not know how and they are unwilling to listen to the experts. A double whammy when dealing with any crisis
So, what do we do?
The first thing we need to do is start taking notice, observe the patterns, and connect the dots. Why are your fruits and vegetables more expensive, why are Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in a water war, and what is with all the tankers out there?
When you see the patterns you see the underlying problems. If you are unable to see it, maybe I need to work harder to paint the picture for you. Hopefully, before you run out of water when you are in the washroom.
Be extremely frugal, imagine you already know you are in a water crisis — how would you save water at every touchpoint at your house?
Then look beyond actual water. The food that we eat also comes with a virtual water footprint. Globally 70–80% of the fresh water is used for food production and agriculture. In fact, one of the few areas where individual actions matter when it comes to climate change is food choices.
There is an ongoing debate on individual action vs intervention by corporations and government. The pace at which things are going, if we rely solely on corporations who have very little incentive to solve for things that do not add up to the top line and governments who are focussed on ensuring they stay in power, we are doomed to fail.
Also when you look at the global landscape countries are threatening the present as well as the future by engaging in wars. Would the same powers respond well to a climate crisis
When it came to the Covid crisis we saw how governments across the country reacted. When resources are scarce the world becomes totalitarian. There are absolute rules in place and we wonder how we arrived here.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, there is a quote that sticks:
“ Better never means better for everyone, it always means worse for some” As resources become scarce, the number of people who are some, expands. It is not worse off for a few but for most
When individuals who have sufficient information do not act, there is no incentive for the government to step in. Governments also react to market forces and only come in when they see a future potential in an idea.
At times they do step in when there is no market potential but it would be unviable for them to do it repeatedly, at least for capitalist governments which most governments are. Also, the way they do it might not be the most sustainable solution like digging more wells when there is a water crisis.
The road where no action is taken looks miserable. While individual action alone won’t solve it, not taking individual action is not an option. There are also organizations whose sole focus is on restoring the water balance. If you truly believe in the power of the collective over the individual you could look at supporting these organizations
If you are looking for organizations in India here is a list
Alternatively, you could become the advocate for water conversation at home /at your workplace/ at your educational institution. We need more voices that speak conversation and we need these voices to be loud and clear.
Recently I started reading The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells, it is an extremely difficult book to read, but it truly opens up a new dimension in the understanding of how Climate change will unfold. This line, in particular, will stay with me:
There is a saying in the water community. If Climate change is a shark, the water sources are the teeth.
