National wastewater reuse policy sought

According to the PwC report on “Closing the water loop, reuse of treated wastewater in urban India”, India needs a national wastewater reuse policy to help address the “perennial concern” of urban water stress by mandating targets and laying out legislative, regulatory and financial measures to hit those targets.

• The suggestion for such a policy comes against the backdrop of the PwC report highlighting “water stress to be a perennial concern’’ in most Indian cities.

Why a policy in this regard is necessary?

The country is expected to add approximately 404 million new urban dwellers between now and 2050. This rapid urban growth will be linked with higher industrial output and greater energy demand thus adding to the urban water stress.

Hence, sound policy and regulatory interventions by the Central and State Governments are a prerequisite for the launching of innovative reuse projects.

Way ahead:

• Institutionalising the reuse of treated wastewater could go a long way in helping utilities to address this challenge in an effective manner.
• Like other infrastructure sub-sectors in India, the wastewater sector would also have to be driven by government initiatives and implementation models would be designed around these initiatives.
• The PwC study suggested that the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Water Resources should work together to define quality norms for different grades of industrial water. This would help standardise the design of reuse systems nationwide.