Former Secretary-General of United Nations, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, had famously said the next war in West Asia would be over the waters of the Nile, not politics.
Water distribution remains a major worry for most cities and villages across India, too. Recently, Arvind Kejriwal fought the Delhi Assembly election over privatisation of water and power.
In the Netherlands, water distribution remains a Government responsibility. A dozen companies, completely owned by the State, are ensuring clean water to the country's 16.77 million people. As per Government policies, these companies do not work for profit.
Water companies in the Netherlands say they use the “best and cheap” technology to purify water.
The cost to purify one cubic metre (1,000 litres) is 1.60 Euros (₹136.63). That means just 13 paisa for a litre of clean water. No wonder, it is difficult to see people, except a few tourists, carrying water bottles in the Netherlands. The reason is simple. You will get the best water in public taps. A bottle of one litre packaged drinking water costs about 2 Euros.
The country stopped using chloride to disinfect drinking water in the 1980s. They have not even used it as an emergency measure, proving that alternative methods work equally well.
The companies believe that having no chloride in drinking water means a long-term investment in the good health of the population.
Instead of using chloride, they disinfect the water with ozonation and carbon filtration. “For chloride, the main costs are mainly yearly: the resources, a barrel and a pump. The alternative method means long-term investment,” says Roelof Kruize, CEO of Waternet, one of the largest water companies in the country.
Waternet, a 400-year-old company with a net worth of about Euro 6 billion, is ready to help Indian cities to develop the best practices of distributing clean water and waste management. Mumbai Corporation is holding discussions with Waternet on an integrated approach of water, energy and waste management.
“Cooperation is explored in the area of waste management, required technologies, design, invitation for tenders, maintenance and capacity building,” Kruize told Business Line. Kruize says the Netherlands technology can be applied to clean river and ground water in India.
Two things are important. A good monitoring system for water quality and the capacity of the pre-treatment that will match with the quality of the surface water,” he added.
“Using natural biological processes in the ground for purifying polluted surface water - as we do in the dunes - can be implemented in other areas. The company claims that, on an average, a household spends Euro 500 (about ₹43,000) a year for water, sewage plans, water treatment water level control and waste management.
(The writer was in Amsterdam at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands)