India has 17 percent of the Worlds population and just 4 percent of its fresh water.  Their current water scenario is a matter of grave concern, as 85 per cent of water is used for agriculture, 10 per cent for industry and just a mere five per cent for domestic use. 

With India's population at 1.2 billion people and counting, plus internal economic migration to urban areas from the countryside, the country's cities are bursting at the seams. Housing shortages, electricity and water cuts, traffic congestion, pollution and a lack of basic services are the reality for millions who live in the slums. I witnessed women in the rural area's walk for miles sometimes twice a day for water contaminated with high levels of fluoride and to the densely populated city's of Dehli and Mumbai where millions of people have no access to running water and resort to stealing water form city water lines or if their lucky the leftovers from a water tanker.

I didn'tt expect to see the level of scarcity for water, however, after being confronted with the reality of India's water problems it was clear, water and its unavailability was a major concern for peoples daily existence.  Delhi's Yumuna river has been heavily polluted with raw sewage and industrial waste turning this once clean river into a black bubbling mess,  57 million people depend on the Yumuna, the river supplies 70 percent of Delhi's water. Thus consumers in Delhi ingest unknown amounts of toxic residues each time they drink the water.   Mumbais Mahalaxmi Dobi Ghat, the largest laundromat in the world, employs over 10,000 people, most of whom come from the nearby Dharavi slum, population one-plus million.  Hoses run into the cubicles constantly, and dirty brackish water is flushed out to the nearby sewers and the Arabian Sea a couple times a day contributing to the city's infamous dirty and inconsistent supply of water.

It is clear that with their current infrastructure and water management polices, India's water woe's are only going to worsen. The water levels in the main reservoirs have not been filled after last years monsoon"s turned out to be the worst in 37years and current forecast of a normal monsoon season are just that "forecast". In the rural farming areas wells are drying and sources for water become less and less as monsoon levels drop from season to season. If India cant get a hold of this potential crisis and supply the needed water for cooking, bathing and drinking on a daily basis, the people will turn violent and get water at any means necessary for their survival. Unfortunately most Indians have been conditioned to thinking water is an abundant resource that will always be available and can be carelessly wasted.   The Central and State Governments need to make the people understand that water has become an increasingly precarious and expensive resource that everyone must conserve, otherwise this crisis can easily turn into a disaster.

Bio
Michael F McElroy  (b. 1969 USA)  is a photographer based in Miami, Florida. His work has been published in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Revue, Monocle, Posi+Tive and Burn as well as other national and international publications. Michaels work has also been recognized by POYi, Communications Arts, Atlanta Photojournalism and the Society for News Design.  He is currently working on a project documenting the global water crisis.

For more information, please contact Michael F McElroy at: mmcelroy@mmcelroy.com or visit mmcelroy.com