The days of living peacefully in an environment of plentiful, clean natural resources are over. First, it was the environment that we heard was in trouble - pollution of various kinds, global warming and the like. Next, energy was crisis hit as one fine day we learned that energy supply, that was once abundant, would never be the same again. Costs rose sharply and suddenly. We were also warned that in the future, we could only expect costs to keep rising. So like it or no, the only way out was to forcibly put the throttle on our profligate energy consumption! And now, its the turn of water! In the 1990's, when we could drink water from our private wells at home, to think of Cape Town turning water-less would have appeared like a far-fetched, absurd story taken straight out of the world of science-fiction. No sensible person would even care to listen if you prophesied it. It was so unimaginable! Come 2018, however, it became a stark reality!
The future face of reality is dark. And grim.
Could beautiful Bangalore be the next after Cape Town? Even before Chennai, Mumbai or New Delhi? It seems too heart-wrenching to be true and yet, futurists and experts warn us that if it could happen to Cape Town, it can surely happen to Bangalore too.
Could beautiful Bangalore be the next after Cape Town? Even before Chennai, Mumbai or New Delhi? It seems too heart-wrenching to be true and yet, futurists and experts warn us that if it could happen to Cape Town, it can surely happen to Bangalore too.
The message is very clear and plain - water is turning scarce, drastically scarce ... by the day ... even in Bangalore! While we may like to dream that there's enough groundwater in Bangalore for another 1000 years to come, that sadly isn't true.
India recommends a per capita consumption of 135 litres of water/ day for healthy living. The population in Bangalore is expected to shoot up to 20 million by 2031, by which time water supply would have dwindled to just 88 litres per capita per day. Primary reasons are the complete disappearance of many of Bangalore's lakes or lake water having become severely polluted. Against 35 tmcft in 1800, there's just 2 tmcft of water in Bangalore's lakes today! (Note: tmcft stands for thousand million cubic feet (or 109 cubic feet). 1 tmcft of water will serve the needs of nearly 6 lakh people for a year). Another reason according to the acclaimed Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is inadequate rainwater harvesting although rainfall itself is sufficient in Bangalore.
Waiting for the slow, bureaucracy-ridden Government to act is pointless, so experts are pointing to Citizen science - the direct involvement of amateurs (commoners like you & me) in data collection, research and related activities.
Enter 'CrowdWater', product of a Citizen science project by two Ph.D students of the university of Zurich (Switzerland), Barbara Strobhl & Simon Etter. 'How much water is there?' seems to be CrowdWater's starting point in finding a successful management/ conservation/ supply solution for water. Only when you know how much of water you have can you make a plan about how much you can supply and over what period of time. Hence the objective of the app is " ... to collect hydrological data with the help of citizen scientists". The whole activity of carrying out measurements is referred to as "gauging" by the authors.
Lade dir hier unsere App für #Android (https://t.co/iYOJ9V4jTD ) und #iPhone (https://t.co/BBn03mZMdB ) runter. #CitizenScience #CrowdWater #Hydrology @spotteron #CitizenScienceApp pic.twitter.com/aDRRdMx28L— CrowdWater (@crowd_water) May 9, 2018
If you are a Banglorean and wish to help, download the CrowdWater app (free) from Google Play Store (Android) or Apple's App Store (iOS) (see the Tweet above). You will be asked to register for a one-time account with an agency called Spotteron. After registering successfully, you can contribute data about water sources in Bengaluru that you are familiar with. Data is collected in four categories: Water level, Discharge, Soil Moisture & Flow condition of a temporary stream. As measurements submitted by individuals are highly prone to error, the app seeks the inputting of several measurements by different individuals for the same water source. The more measurements, the better. Statistical techniques will then be applied to all available inputs to determine a reliable measure of the amount of water available at a given source.
The aggregate quantity of water across all sources in Bangalore will be calculated by summing up the quantities estimated at individual sources.
CrowdWater is map based and uses your device's GPS to accurately capture Latitude/ Longitude data for a given source of water. You will need to physically go to the water source you choose - lake, river, tank, stream, etc. and take some photos there. The estimation process compares your photo with a reference photo supplied by the app and then calculates the amount of water-based on the differences found.
Learning materials are available at the CrowdWater website and the app itself will guide and teach you the basics of how to calculate/ input the four measurements above for a water source.
Learning materials are available at the CrowdWater website and the app itself will guide and teach you the basics of how to calculate/ input the four measurements above for a water source.
