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Published online 19 March 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/452278a
Water: Muddy waters
India's population is growing, and its water supplies are not keeping pace. Can an ambitious scheme to connect up the country's rivers slake the nation's deepening thirst? Daemon Fairless investigates.
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After reading through this article rather quickly, I do notice that it remains silent on the well-known village tanks (artificial lakes), of which there is one for every 5 or 10 villages. There is very good source material available on this matter and its role in water supply.
In contrast to Europe, "treated and recycled water" has been considered taboo and unacceptable for human use for a long time. It can be used for agriculture, (though not for vegetables that are eaten raw) or to create artificial lakes, from which seepage and recharging of the ground water can occur. The "market value" of "treated and recycled water" is correspondingly low.