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Towards Circularity in Used Water Management in India: Mainstreaming Reuse for Its Economic and Market Potential
Nitin Bassi, Saiba Gupta and Kartikey Chaturvedi
August 2024 | Circular Economy, Sustainable Water
Suggested Citation: Bassi, Nitin, Saiba Gupta, and Kartikey Chaturvedi. 2024. “Towards Circularity in Used Water Management in India: Mainstreaming Reuse for Its Economic and Market Potential.” Sustainability Nexus Forum - Springer 32 (7)
Overview
This research paper makes a case for mainstreaming the reuse of treated used water (TUW) as one of the viable interventions to address the freshwater demand-supply gap and improve the water environment. It adopts a nexus lens by estimating the market potential and direct (irrigation) and indirect (reduction in fertiliser consumption and greenhouse gas emissions) economic value of the reuse at the national scale. Further, it highlights the importance of robust governance mechanisms at all levels as an essential condition to realise these potentials. For this purpose, an in-depth analysis of the existing policies on used water management of Indian states and global best practices was carried out to draw learnings for mainstreaming circularity in used water management in India.
Key Highlights
- INR 630 million would have been the daily market value of TUW in 2021, had there been a mechanism to sell TUW to different sectors for reuse. The daily market value is estimated to increase substantially to INR 1.9 billion by 2050, at the current market rate.
- Mainstreaming the reuse of TUW in irrigation offers significant direct economic benefits to the state exchequer. In 2021, INR 966 billion worth of revenue would have been generated by reusing TUW for irrigating crops in suburban areas.
- Along with direct benefits, reusing TUW for irrigation provides some important nexus gains, such as reduced dependence on synthetic nutrients, groundwater, and energy. The nutrient content of TUW was estimated to have reduced fertiliser use by 6000 tonnes in 2021, which would have led to savings of over INR 50 million per annum.
- 1.3 million tonnes of GHG emissions would have been mitigated in 2021 on account of reduced groundwater pumping and consumption of fertilisers.
Key Recommendations
- Make a paradigm shift in ideology: India needs to recognise used water as an integral part of water resources by including it in all water management policies, plans, and regulations.
- Define water quality standards: Water quality standards for both safe discharge and reuse need to be well defined with a risk-reducing approach and a periodic review mechanism in place for regular monitoring and assessment
- Set robust institutional mechanisms: Urban local bodies should be empowered to formulate and adopt long-term, city-level wastewater reuse plans, with well-defined roles and responsibilities.
- Improve financial viability: Targeted performance-based incentives for the operators/end-users of used water treatment plants, and an effective pricing mechanism based on the market potential of the TUW can act as a catalyst to improve the financial viability of reuse projects.
- Leverage technological developments: Indian states need to come out with a clear strategy for research and development, especially focussing on low-cost highly energy-efficient technological innovations.
- Invest in public outreach: Indian states should develop effective public outreach plans to build public confidence and nudge behaviour for the successful implementation of wastewater reuse projects.
“Given the increasing water stress in urban areas and the potential direct and indirect economic value from the reuse of the treated used water, it is high time that this is considered as a resource for the future and be mainstreamed in the water resource planning and development”.
