Despite Efforts, India Is Way Behind In Wastewater Management

The election results are a reflection of a new yet important trend. In the future, more and more elections in India could be fought on twin promises of water security and wastewater management. 

With climate related challenges rising, India, home to 1.4 billion people, will have to aggressively look at resolving a brewing water crisis and providing clean drinking water to every citizen. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting her eighth consecutive Budget, extended the Jal Jeeval Mission to 2028, with the outlay enhanced to Rs 67,000 crore. 

The FM also announced an Urban Challenge Fund of Rs 1 lakh crore to implement proposals for ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’, ‘Creative Redevelopment of Cities’ and ‘Water and Sanitation’, with public private partnership at its core.

Amid the macroeconomic numbers and big picture policy measures, rarely does the issue of water security get the kind of attention it requires.  

With the demand for clean water rising steadily, India’s water security could face severe challenges in the coming years. A report by thesecretariat.in earlier noted that a water crisis in the country could lead to a 6 per cent decrease in India's GDP by 2050.

According to reports, India generated 72.37 billion litre of wastewater per day across all provinces. However, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in December said that of the total urban wastewater and sewage generated in India, a mere 28 per cent is reused, “leaving a substantial 72 per cent untreated and allowed to flow into rivers, lakes and land”.

With rapid urbanisation, population growth and a focus on economic growth with industrialisation, India’s wastewater will significantly increase in the next few years.

Sectors such as power, textiles, agriculture and automobiles among others depend on fresh ground water. This has been leading to depletion on ground water level and if this is not addressed, it will lead to severe water shortage.

India, therefore, urgently needs to push and expand the use of treated wastewater.    

Several multinational companies dealing with sewage water treatment could be looking at India to expand their footprint. The International Trade Administration has pegged India’s wastewater treatment market at approximately US$ 11 billion. It is expected to grow to over US$ 18 billion by 2026, it said.

While several sewage treatment plants have come up in India in the last few years, they are concentrated only in a few states such as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

Over 90 per cent of all sewage plants are located in 10 states and Union Territories, “something that should be changing as time goes forward”, noted H2OBazaar, a platform for targeted buyers and sellers across the globe.

Gujarat has set a target of using 80 per cent of wastewater by 2030.

No doubt, the Narendra Modi government has been making right noises around water security and management while carving out several themes such as Har Ghar Jal, Nari Shakti Se Jal Shakti, etc., besides launching the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and National Mission For Clean Ganga, among other programmes. The private sector has been doing its bit as well.

The target is to cover every household in the country by 2028.

The FM noted that since 2019, 15 crore households, representing 80 per cent of India’s rural population, have been provided access to potable tap water connections. She added that the thrust on the mission is a reflection of the “government’s strong commitment to water security and rural development”.

The Challenges 

According to the World Bank, India has 18 per cent of the world’s population, but only 4 per cent of its water resources, making it among the most water-stressed in the world.

With climate related risks increasing leading to droughts and floods, India needs to be prepared for unpredictability in weather patterns. Experts said that the Centre needs to focus on waste water management to ensure water security.

The World Bank noted that a large number of Indians face high to extreme water stress, according to a recent report by the government’s policy think tank, the NITI Aayog. India’s dependence on an increasingly erratic monsoon for its water requirements increases this challenge.

Climate change is likely to exacerbate this pressure on water resources, even as the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts in the country increases.

Countries Aggressively Reusing Wastewater

Several countries have been reusing wastewater. While Germany and Singapore are considered leaders in its treatment, other economies like Japan, Switzerland and the Netherlands are also aggressively treating wastewater to make it safe for reuse. Even Namibia in Africa has established a well-oiled wastewater treatment programme.

In the case of Singapore, though it is an island, most of the water that is available is sea water, which is unfit for drinking. Hence, Singapore’s Changi Water Reclamation Plant has been collecting sewage water and treating it in a manner that it is converted into safe drinking water.

The treated water, which is 100 per cent safe to drink, is known “NEWater”.

India’s Scenario

While India has started taking steps for better treatment and management of wasterwater, it has to press the pedal. 

Management of wastewater is a subject that comes under the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). A component of the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, launched on October 1, 2021 with a view to achieve garbage-free status, includes the management of used water to ensure that no untreated wastewater is discharged into the environment.

Despite several measures, India needs to carve out a sharper, centralised, wastewater treatment solution that would require connecting sewers and drains.

“The urgency of water scarcity demands a fresh perspective on how we prioritise and utilise treated wastewater as a new and vital water resource,” the CSE said in a report.