Sustainable Water Management: Smart Solutions for Equity in Vellore Municipal Corporation

Tamil Nadu state envisages 24 × 7 piped water supply to all households in urban and rural areas in tune with SDG Goal 6 (established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015) ensuring equity in supply of drinking water and sanitation. However, problems of sustainable water management have increased due to growing concentration of the state’s population in urban areas like Vellore. Planning for sustainable use of water resources has gained significance due to agricultural intensification and industrial growth despite constraints in ground water aquifers. Large investments in supply side management for drinking water include feeder pipes from distant sources and intermediate sumps. Nevertheless, investments in demand side management including recycling and reuse remain unaddressed in planning for enhancement of per capita water availability. This paper provides a case study of Smart City initiatives in Vellore Municipal Corporation which has expanded to include six panchayats and two municipalities and is dependent on subsoil water sources in the absence of a perennial water course. It highlights the need to incorporate demand side management through inter-alia investments in water harvesting, storage, use efficiency, and effluent and sewage treatment in order to address equity concerns. It also discusses gaps in the present system while advocating sustainable withdrawal and supply of freshwater under seasonal scarcity conditions.