Cost-effective and sustainable solutions for urban water management (UWM) is a big challenge for growing economies like India and reuse of treated wastewater is going to be a solution for many Indian cities and water guzzling industries, says Arun Lakhani, chairman and MD of Nagpur-based Vishvaraj Environment, one of India's leading water and wastewater management companies.
Lakhani, among the pioneers of public-private partnership (PPP) in water and sewage treatment projects in India, notes the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data shows of the total urban sewage generated, only 28%(20,236 MLD) is treated while 72% remains untreated and is disposed off in rivers, lakes, and aquifers leading to contamination and deterioration of overall water quality. A total of 72,368 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage was generated in urban areas in India in 2020-21. However, the installed sewage treatment capacity is 31,841 MLD and the operational capacity is only 26,869 MLD. One among the main options for water starved urban communities and industries is to reuse treated wastewater, especially for industries that require high quantities of water for day to day operations like food and beverage units, refineries and thermal power plants.
One among the pioneer projects in industrial reuse of water was implemented a few years ago by Vishvaraj Environment in Nagpur. It set up the largest water reuse project in the country on a build own operate and transfer (BOOT) model for the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company, which has a thermal power plant in the outskirts of Nagpur. A 190 MLD tertiary treatment infrastructure and a 20 kilometre pipeline was laid to cool the turbines at the power plant. "It is a financially self-sustainable project and is a model for such projects in India," says Lakhani.
Vishvaraj Environment is also implementing a similar project at Chandrapur in Maharashtra for the same client, the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company. This project involves construction of 50 MLD of wastewater treatment infrastructure and a nine kilometre pipeline to cool the power producer's thermal power plant.
Sources say the National Water Policy-2012 mandates recycle and reuse of water as general norm and advocates treatment to specified standards before reuse of waste water. It also provides for a properly planned tariff system to incentivise reuse of treated water in various sectors. Besides, a National Framework on Reuse of Treated WasteWater has also been adopted by the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation.
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The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programme also has provisions for monetisation and reuse of treated wastewater for irrigation and industrial purposes. The Power Tariff Policy 2016 has also mandated all thermal power plants to use the treated sewage water from Sewage Treatment Plants(STPs) situated in 50 kms radius for non-potable purposes.
About 23 thermal power plants have been identified in Ganga basin in the first phase for reuse of treated waste water. The Mathura Tertiary Treatment Plant has been commissioned for the supply of treated wastewater to Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL)’s Mathura Refinery. The CPCB has formulated a charter based participatory approach to facilitate the industries for water recycling and pollution prevention in major industrial sectors like pulp and paper, sugar, distillery, textile and tannery in river Ganga main stem. NMCG has also floated MoUs with the ministry of power, ministry of railways and ministry of agriculture for reuse of treated wastewater, say sources.
NTPC Ltd, which currently meets 25% of the country's power demand mainly through its coal and gas fired thermal plants, follows a policy of 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) to reduce water consumption at its various plants. Recently NTPC commissioned India’s first air cooled condenser at North Karanpura Super Critical plant in Jharkhand, as the technology reduces water consumption by one-third. NTPC's Ratnagiri plant uses rainwater harvesting and reuse of water methods to run the plant. Already, Zero Liquid Discharge has been implemented at about 19 NTPC stations and the balance shall be compliant by the end of FY24, say sources.
Lakhani says with such projects and numerous water and waste water treatment projects in the pipeline, Vishvaraj Environment expects to maintain a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% in the next three-four years. Its revenues rose 70% year-on-year to ₹650 crore in FY23. The company has an orderbook worth ₹2,200 crore and another ₹2,500 crore in bidding opportunities in the pipeline and hence expects to clock over ₹1,100 crore revenues in FY24, he says.