"Even as cities plan for water supply sourced from locations that are far, they forget about managing the waste - the excreta and sludge that is generated. Most cities have no clue how they will convey the waste or treat it.
"In fact, a humongous 78 per cent of the sewage generated remains untreated and is disposed of in rivers, groundwater or lakes," said Sunita Narain, director general of Centre for Science and Environment.
Narain said because water was sourced from far away, as in the case of Delhi, it has led to an increase in the cost of supply as well as high distribution losses.
"The farther is the source, the more are distribution losses and the less water there is at the end of the pipeline. Due to the high cost incurred in water supply, cities were not able to recover costs of supply and had, therefore, no money to invest in sewage treatment," she said.
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"The gravest implication was for the rivers where the faceal sludge was dumped. We are a generation of lost rivers. How many will we lose before we remember that unless sewage is managed, the river-cleaning operations will not work," she said.
CSE also gave a host of recommendations which included plans to deliberately cut costs of water supply, investing in local water systems, reducing water demand, plans to recycle and reuse every drop and connect water conservation to sewage management.