Sustainable Water Management Solutions for Large Cities (Proceedings of symposium S2 held during the Seventh IAHS Scientific Assembly at Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, April 2005). IAHS Publ. 293, 2005, 98-104

1 Department of Geography, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India

2 Department of Geography, Aditi Mahavidyalaya (University of Delhi), Bawana, Delhi 110039, India

Abstract India has more than 250 ´ 10⁶ urban dwellers together with 34 metropolitan cities. In most of these cities, the water supply sector is faced with a number of problems and constraints. The population of Delhi is 13.7 ´ 10⁶. Against the present requirement of about 3324 ´ 10⁶ l day^-1, the installed capacity is only 2634 ´ 10⁶ l day^-1. The average water consumption in Delhi is estimated at 240 l per capita per day, the highest in India. In the New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi Cantonment areas, the gap between the supply and demand for water has resulted in large-scale development of groundwater. This has led to serious problems with both the quantity and quality of groundwater. This paper identifies critical issues related to water resources of mega-cities. Various strategies have been discussed in order to promote Integrated Urban Water Management.

Key words Delhi mega-city; groundwater; urban waste management; urban water