Developing novel technologies and approaches to water recycling and reuse

In an interaction with Industry Outlook, Dr. Mansee Bal Bhargava, National President, Water Resources Council, WICCI shares her views on water recycling and reuse market, improving water use, managing water loss, and more. Her twenty-five years of entrepreneurship, research and education focus has been on large scale developments with inclination towards ecological restoration.</i>

According to a recent research, water recycling and reuse market is anticipated to register a CAGR of 13.65 per cent until 2026. How do you see this market evolving in India? What are the major factors driving the growth of this market?

There is a rising water crisis to meet the basic needs of the majority vulnerable population, and we may not be left with much choice than going for <b>water recycling</b> and reuse. Besides, the increase in wastewater availability, innovations in treatment, novel technologies are pulling the market towards the sector. Whatever is said and done, the future of water is in the recycle-reuse water. Philosophically, we are in a continuum of water treatment, recycling and reuse, if we see the planet as one and it is one water, and that water is wastewater. Practically, we are talking about the water that has undergone domestic-industrial-agricultural use which requires repurposing for some use. The important point is the repurposed use which will require nudging in the innovation and implementation.

The most important aspect of conserving water from processes and cooling in any facility is about knowing how much you use and how much goes to waste. Therefore, the first step in improving water use is conducting an audit. Please elaborate on some of the best practices that are used in following this.

Yes, the first step in improving water use is conducting an audit. A simple logic that prevails is, anything that can be measured can be managed. Water, being a complex resource, has been conventionally not measured robustly, thus challenged in management. Interestingly, if as individuals we are ignorant of our basic water footprint, we are less likely to carry intent of measuring water use institutionally. When we do not keep a check on consumption of water, we are naturally less likely to even bother about the production of wastewater which is why we see the apathy of wastewater management across the sectors and regions.

The General Guidelines for Water Audit by the MoWR-GoI broadly classified into irrigation, domestic and industrial sectors include the broad steps such as, Water Supply and Usage Study, Process Study, System Audit, Discharge Analysis, Audit Reporting. Some best management practices that are applied around the world include Recover Rainwater, Meter/Measure/Manage, Optimize Cooling Towers, Replace Restroom Fixtures, Use Water-Smart Landscaping and Irrigation, Reuse Laboratory Culture Water, Control Reverse Osmosis System Operation, Reduce Steam Sterilizer Tempering Water Use, Eliminate Single-Pass Cooling, Recover Air Handler Condensate, etc.

It is important to protect industrial systems against water loss in order to reduce the need to add water. As noted, fixing leaks is essential. However, preventing leaks is just as critical. How can industries ensure this?

It is absolutely urgent to put industrial systems into more responsibility to manage water loss. Even if that may not reduce the need directly, it has a huge opportunity cost. Preventing leakage must be a priority to fixing leakages. Both can be addressed by conceptualizing, design, implementation, operation and maintenance of the water services. We have been challenged especially in the O&M and that can be attributed to the weak capacitating of the concerned personnel and cultural poverty in maintaining anything (systems to relations). Water auditing is certainly a crucial way to ensure prevention.

The social-moral-professional values held by industrialist/scan be also attributed as that lays the foundation of the practice. Besides, strict institutional monitoring and sanctioning are to put in the right place knowing that industries are always at the profit maximizing mode and leakage is not really their direct loss. Both industries and institutions need to acquire responsibility and understanding, and leakage is a social and environmental loss. For this capacitating with awareness and solutions are important. 

Although holding much promise for the future, seawater desalination is still extremely expensive, with reverse osmosis technology consuming a vast amount of energy: around 4 kilowatt hours of energy for every cubic metre of water. Please elaborate on the various kinds of technologies that are being implemented in achieving this and how successful have they been in the process.

Both seawater desalination with reverse osmosis is not only expensive, it is anthropocentric and against the environment protection philosophy. The (waste) brine water produced from desalination is heavily toxic for the ecosystem. Technological innovations are important, however high time we use common sense and conscience with science. We need to also realize that much of the expenses on exclusive technologies end up excluding the large vulnerable mass of people resulting in disparity and distress.

As society, the consumption graph cannot go high endlessly. Somewhere we must draw a line to reduce consumption of freshwater and production of wastewater.  The more we focus on finding ways to appropriate more of/from water resources we are manufacturing and manipulating the water crisis more. Planet is not of/for/by humans, constitution may have been focused on humans except Article 21. Besides, we must stop underestimating the physical laws of nature. Climate change is real, so is the waste generated by extravagant consumption, most of which lands up in all kinds of water bodies.

How do you see the water recycling and reuse market evolving in the near future?

With the decline of the freshwater and increasing demand of the same, we have no other choice than to develop novel technologies and approaches to water recycling and reuse. The market indeed needs to be created with projections for a future (present) crisis. Who knew 50 years ago that one day we would be buying water for drinking despite it being a fundamental human right; 20 years ago that every house would use water filters, 10 years ago, 10 years ago that water would be traded in the wall street. Hence, the urgency of recycling and reuse market is already in ‘yesterday’ mode. The market is already here; it is just a matter of connecting the dots. The Industry Outlook Magazine is in a good position to connect those dots and provide industry and society with a better picture of the present and the future of water recycling and reuse. I would wish and request the industry and the Industry Outlook Magazine to focus on changing the behavior towards consuming less, saving water and repairing leakages.