Infrastructure Development Since 1981
Infrastructure Development Since 1981
About 71% of earth's surface is covered with water. Out of this, about 97% of the earth's water is found in the oceans, and out of 3% fresh water, only less than 1% is available to be used for our livelihood as over 2% is stored in glaciers, ice caps, and snowy mountain ranges.
The increasing population is putting tremendous pressure on water resources worldwide, and posing big challenge to the water sector to manage, preserve and sustain the diminishing resources sustainably. It is important to understand how the urban water cycle works to know the true value of water.
India, the 2nd biggest populated country is also the second largest water consumer in the world. As per government data, the average annual per capita water availability fell 15% during 2001-2011. It is predicted to fall another 13% by 2025 and further 15% by 2050, which means that in less than 30 years, each Indian household will have about 1.1 million litres of water per year, down from 1.8 million litres in 2011.
Water stress level is constantly increasing. More than 50% population today has no access to safe drinking water. Reports suggest that at least 40% Indian population will have no access to drinking water by 2030. The water stress has already started inflicting as over 600 million people is living with severe water stress and the report further claims that 21 major cities (including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad) are expected to run out of groundwater affecting at least another 100 million people.
Water flows in nature to be used by different ecosystems and then returns to nature in other forms and characteristics to be treated and filtered then enter the cycle again. However, water is becoming highly contaminated as in India we are not doing the exercise properly. The water that is being supplied by municipalities, 80% of that is coming out as used water which needed proper treatment and filtration before releasing into the ecosystem.
A report by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) suggests that the existing sewage treatment plants in India are able to treat about one-third of the total sewage generated per day. The country’s urban centres are generating 72,368 MLD (million litres per day) whereas the installed capacity of STPs is 31,841 MLD. Of this installed capacity, developed and operationalized capacity was 26,869 MLD and out of which only 20,235 MLD was the actual utilised capacity.
India with an increasing population and growing demand for water is not utilising the valuable resource of wastewater to augment the water supply and cater to the need of industries and irrigation.
World over, many countries are using treated sewage to satisfy their water needs. Singapore is a classic example that has successfully adopted smart wastewater management system to meet 40% of their water demand which they have planned to increase to 50% by 2030. ‘NEWater’ is the brand name given to highly treated and reclaimed wastewater produced by Singapore's Public Utilities Board. The water is potable quality and can be added to drinking water supply reservoirs where it is withdrawn and treated again in conventional water treatment plants before being distributed to consumers. Netherlands provides customised treated water for specific requirements and preferences of each customer with an overall emphasis on tailoring water to the needs of the industries thus reducing their dependence on surface and ground water sources.
The large scale water stress and widely reported day zero in Cape Town; South Africa has expedited their action plan to reuse treated water. As per Green Drop Report, South Africa has 824 wastewater treatment systems across 152 municipalities which have a collective design capacity to receive about 6,500 million litres of wastewater a day. With concentrated efforts, it is targeting that 50% of the wastewater is treated for reuse so that 3,250 million litres of water will be made available to be returned for consumption.
Chinese authorities have issued new guidelines for wastewater reuse, intensifying efforts to combat the impending water crisis. China has set an ambitious goal with investment and advance technology implementation to reuse the treated sewage to 25% or more by 2025, 5% higher than the previous 2020 goals. In the urban area of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, where the water shortage is even more severe, the reuse target is 35%.
In India, water reuse is still in its nascent stage with minimal reclaimed water. The reuse of treated sewage is an issue which hasn’t assumed much importance in the policy planning of successive governments. In order to meet the growing water demand, wastewater recycle and reuse is the most sustainable option. Tremendous potential exists for wastewater recycling and reuse mainly for non- potable applications.
Indian cities administration must locally plan for implementing pilot projects to be scale up for treated sewage reuse for horticulture, washing activities (road, vehicles and trains), fire-fighting, industrial cooling, toilet flushing and gardening and at large scale to provide it to farmers for agriculture purposes. The reuse of treated sewage can decrease the water demand from surface sources like rivers, ponds, lakes as well as groundwater sources.
As per the latest reports by Markets and Markets, the global wastewater treatment services market is projected to reach USD 71.6 billion by 2026 from the existing USD 53 billion at a CAGR of 6.2% during the projected period. The global market for water recycle and reuse technologies are estimated at USD 15.3 billion in the year 2020 and projected to reach USD 27.1 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10% over the analysis period.
The rapidly declining freshwater sources and growing wastewater complexities will drive the demand for advanced water and wastewater treatment technologies in India. The factor that is supporting the demand of wastewater recycling and reuse is the growing economic activities and recovery in manufacturing sector in India. Irrigation being the largest freshwater users in the country, if we are able to reuse at least 15% of reclaimed water for agriculture and industrial purposes, we will be able to save billions of litres of fresh water, releasing the water stress and also helping water utilities to provide drinking water facilities to unserved areas.