Room for incentives

To encourage greater water reuse, India must prioritize infrastructure development, implement sound policies and allow private sector participation

- ANSHUMAN

While treated wastewater in India is often discharged into water bodies or used for non-essential purposes such as irrigating public parks, its reuse for more critical applications remains relatively uncommon.

With depleting freshwater sources, erratic rainfall patterns and growing water scarcity, it is imperative that India adapt innovative water management solutions.

Data from the Central Pollution Control Board reveals that only 28 percent of the total sewage generated is effectively treated and a mere 3 percent of this treated wastewater is used beneficially.

This represents a significant untapped resource that could help alleviate India's water security concerns.

The failure to reuse treated wastewater also underutilizes the substantial capital invested in sewage treatment plants.

But without adequate infrastructure, supportive policies and financial incentives, this situation is likely to continue.

Existing challenges Despite the growing need, wastewater reuse in India faces several challenges.

The infrastructure for wastewater treatment is inadequate.

There is an absence of guidelines on sector-wise quality of treated water reuse as different sectors have distinct requirements of processed water quality ranging from biological treatment to reverse osmosis or ultrafiltration to meet quality standards.

R&D initiatives are deficient and require boosting of investment to foster innovation and accelerate the adoption of wastewater reuse practices.

There is also a lack of participation by the private sector and a lack of skilled personnel.

Added to this, socio-cultural barriers often prevent the acceptance of reused water.