Decentralised Wastewater Treatment and Reuse

June 03, 2014

India has witnessed a rapid increase in the urban population during last few decades. All towns and cities are augmenting water supplies to meet the increasing water demand. But the lack of adequate wastewater treatment facilities is resulting untreated sewage disposal into lakes, river and other water bodies. The cumulative result of unmanaged wastewater that the system cannot cope with has negative effects on the health of both people and ecosystems and is a challenge for ULBs.

The revenues generated by local taxes including water and sewerage charges in coverage area are too meager to even break in the local body accounts, leave alone increasing the reserve funds. In this situation, pollution control is a near impossible task.

The fact is that Indian cities have the opportunity to reinvent sewage paradigms and they can leapfrog into new ways of dealing with wastewater. DWWT will certainly conserve various resources and, at the same time provide sanitation in unsewered area typically seen in Indian towns and cities.

The socio-economic situation and the context of urbanisation highlight the need for DWWT. In such circumstances, local reuse and recycle of treated wastewater too holds immense potential in terms of overall urban environmental sustainability.