Water supply is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous concern among cities around the world. More and more cities are now experiencing water stresses with the onset of summer, purportedly due to scanty rainfall and depletion of surface water resources on account of climate change.
On closer investigation, this proves to be an overly simplified narrative. While there is no doubt that climate change has profound impacts on natural water systems and has exacerbated the issues of urban water supply, it is not an exclusive factor leading to the urban water crises. Water crises in most cases have little to do with scarcity which is the physical endowment of water and more to do with the social, political and technical factors that produce ‘shortage in pipes’.
This is exemplified in the case of Shimla where in May 2018, the city experienced one of its most severe water shortages with the municipality pumping 18-20 MLD water for a week as opposed to the demand of 45 MLD. This crisis was attributed largely to deficit in snowfall which translated into scarcity of water at source, and in turn provided impetus to a water augmentation project.