Five solutions India’s cities need to stop fighting for water week after week

Urban India’s water emergency is no longer a future risk. It has become a regular feature of our summer. From high-rises anxiously following tanker schedules to informal settlements queuing at one post, each year brings the same mix of dry taps, shaky spirits and quiet resignation.

This summer, residents in parts of New Delhi have already faced days without piped water, with large families having to make do with just one 20-litre water container for a day. The Delhi Jal Board reportedly planned to deploy more than 1,000 tankers to deal with the crisis. Similar scenes have played out in other major cities over the past few years, including Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Unfortunately, India still takes it as a seasonal nuisance to endure until the clouds come.

Most cities get their water from reservoirs, groundwater, or a combination of both. However, the annual summer water shortage is the result of decisions made over the years. Cities grew faster than their systems. Lakes and reservoirs were built. Humans are using up groundwater faster than it can be replenished.

Cities often focus on finding new sources of water instead of repairing and maintaining existing networks. Choices about development planning and control, groundwater enforcement, water use, and wastewater management made by everyone—from individuals to service providers to policymakers—shape the experience every summer.

Many cities moved from nearby rivers and lakes to distant sources and quickly depleted groundwater, sinking more wells and laying longer pipelines. What appears to be a sudden shortage is often the result of this slow erosion of local buffers. At the same time, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and stormwater channels that once mitigated both floods and droughts have been encroached upon or converted so that a few hours of intense rain can flood the streets and a few weeks later the same city is once again queuing for tankers.

In addition to short-term coping

For many residents, especially in poorer settlements and smaller towns, the crisis is also about quality. Intermittent supply, leaky pipes and unsafe storage mean that even when water arrives, it may not be safe to drink. The familiar scenes of tankers, angry protests and frantic drilling are therefore not a one-off. They are symptoms of a chronic condition that manifests itself in sickness, lost work days and mounting bills.

If we accept this, we will also realize that coping week to week is no longer enough.

First, every city needs an honest and public stormwater plan. Residents should not rely on rumors to know what is going on. The baseline plan would identify the most vulnerable departments and critical facilities, set simple rules for how water will be prioritized when supplies are limited, such as the length and frequency of deliveries to allow for better distribution at the end, and commit to regular public updates on storage levels and expected supplies. When such information is shared clearly, it manages expectations and reduces complaints; it’s not so much about technology as it is about handling information as part of a service.

Second, a concerted effort must be made to retrieve water that is already in the system but never reaches the taps. Instead of announcing distant, expensive new sources, cities can launch a time-limited “leak hunt” in the worst-affected zones: walk through key sections of the network, quickly repair visible leaks, use simple tools to uncover hidden ones, and set a short-term goal to reduce losses. In systems where a large proportion—nearly 30%—of water is lost before it reaches users, even modest reductions in a few high-loss areas are equivalent to creating a new local resource without building new pipelines.

Third, government buildings, large campuses, and commercial complexes are among the most persistent consumers of water. And a quick internal audit, basic leak fixes and simple efficiency measures over the next month can free up meaningful volumes and lead by example. Neighborhoods and community groups can agree on clear norms for peak months, curtail non-essential use, track weekly usage and ask tanker suppliers where they get their water from – while local leaders in low-income areas help authorities see how deliveries actually reach their lanes.

Fourth, any emergency response must include water quality: rapid testing in high-risk neighborhoods and tanker water supplies, temporary support for basic treatment in case of problems, and simple communication about safe storage.

Finally, water security cannot be achieved without improving the way water is managed. Measures to reduce leaks in water pipes should also be used on sewer networks to identify and stop large sewage leaks and prevent contamination.

Not a single solution

Quick and inexpensive upgrades to wastewater treatment equipment, such as optimizing aeration, weeding, and dewatering, can further reduce pollution and help expand available surface and groundwater resources.

No single measure will lift India’s cities out of their water crisis. Together, however, they can directly address summer’s pain points: unpredictability, waste, injustice, and disease.

Manish Dubey is Dean & Rahul Bajaj Chair, School of Governance, Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS). KV Santhosh Ragavan is an adjunct faculty at IIHS.

Published – 17 Jun 2026 08:30 IST