Healthy Ganga:Cleaner Waters and more Productive Ecosystems

Javier Mateo-Sagasta

(Senior researcher, IWMI)

Pic

: N

eil

Pa

lme

r / IW

MI

• Ganga under pressure

• WLE project: main components

• Component 1: Pollution from small and

medium cites

• Component 1: Progress and plans

• This workshop

• Q&A

Outline

Ganga under pressure: pollution

655 million people in the basin

43% of Indian population

Urbanization and industrialization

Agriculture intensification

Higher water use

Massive pollution loads

Pic: Neil Palmer / IWMI

Fifty cities along the river +

Septage:

Sewage:

Millions of septic tanks and pit latrines with

no further sludge treatment

Ganga under pressure: pollution

Source Production

Billion l/d

Capacity

Billion l/d

Gap

CPCB 2.7 1.2 55%

CSE 6.1 ? >80%

Class A: water for use as drinking water source without conventional treatment but after disinfection.

Class B: waters for use for organized outdoor bathing.

Class C: Class C waters for use as drinking water source with conventional treatment followed by disinfection.

Source: CPCB 2013, Pollution Assessment: River Ganga, Central Pollution Control Board, MoEF, July

Pollution

Class B

Class A

Ganga under pressure: pollution

monsoon

Ganga under pressure: reduced flow

• Intense water abstractions for agriculture

• Hydel projects mushrooming

• Hundreds of kilometers with no or very

low flows

• Disrupted ecosystems and less capacity

to carry pollution loads

WLE Healthy Ganga Project

Water quality and flow modelling (IIT Kanpur)

Gender and social aspects (IRMA)

Uptake and communication

(NMCG, Local and state authorities, etc)

Project components and partners

Pollution

control from

small and

medium

cities

(IWMI)

(WSP)

Environmental

flows in the

Upper Ganga

(WWF)

Project locations

Mughalsarai

Unnao

Gangaghat

Project component 1:Pollution from small and medium cities in UP

• Why small and medium cities?

50 cities (36 class II, 14 class I)

• Why UP?

Water pollution hotspot

• Why Mugalsharai, Gangaghat and Unnao

Ganga pollution

Political support

No STPs and almost no sewers

• Integrated baseline assessments of the 3 selected cities to

identify challenges and opportunities for pollution prevention

(focus on fecal pollution)

Project component 1: Outputs: Progress and plans

• Stakeholder recommended solutions for pollution

abatement in the 3 selected cities

• Feasibility studies for the most promising solutions

• New entry points for equitable engagement for women and

men in pollution abatement

• Replication potential for the most promising solutions and

effectiveness of such replication

Expected Outcomes from Comp. 1

Support urban authorities to make evidence based city

sanitation plans (and/or urban river management plans)

Support for designing an implementing feasible and

context-specific models for septage and sewage

management

For targeting investments and develop cost-effective

strategies por pollution control

Today’s workshop

Objectives

Present the integrated baseline assessment conducted in Unnao,

Mugalsharai and Gangaghat

Present and discuss potential solutions to address the challenges and

opportunities identified

Expected results

Stakeholder validated baseline assessment of challenges in Unnao,

Mugalsharai and Gangaghat

List of potential solutions for which the project could make feasibility

studies in 2016

Today’s workshop: Draft program

9:00 – 09:45 Session 1: Opening and Background

10:15 – 11:30 Session 2: Assessments in Unnao, Mugalsharai and

Gangaghat

11:30 – 12:30 Session 3: Non-conventional solutions for small and medium

size cities

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 16:30 Session 4: Discussions on solutions for Unnao, Mugalsharai

and Gangaghat

16:30 – 17:00 Wrap up, follow up and closure

Thank you!