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MECH SEMINAR ON GLOBALISATION REGIONAL PROGRESS
NEW DELHI, 19 APRf L 1 9 9 5
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PROSPECTS AND POTENTIAL OF WATER MANAGTEMENT I N SOUTH I N D I A

George C C u r r i e, Managi ng D i r e c t o r
Degremont I n d i a L i m i t e d , New Del h i

INTRODUCTION

I t i s a g r e a t p r i v i l e g e f o r me t o be g i v e n t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o
t a l k t o you on t h e s u b j e c t o f w a t e r management i n I n d i a , t h e home
o f w a t e r t r e a t m e n t . I t may n o t be known t o you, b u t t h e f i r s t
known t r e a t i s e on t h e t r e a t m e n t o f f o u l water t o make i t s a f e f o r
human consumption i s found i n S a n s k r i t m e d i c i n a l t e x t s d a t i n g
back almost 4000 y e a r s - and t h e p r o c e s s d e s c r i b e d o f f i l t r a t i o n
and d i s i n f e c t i o n does n o t d i f f e r t o o g r e a t l y f r o m t h e b a s i c
p r a c t i s e s o f t o d a y . I t was r e c o g n i s e d t h e n , even i n such e a r l y
days 04 m a n k i n d ' s development, t h a t w a t e r i S t h e key t o a l l human
a c t i v i t y . O b v i o u s l y water i s a p r i m e f a c t o r f o r sustenance o f
l i f e , b o t h d i r e c t l y and t h r o u g h a g r i c u l t u r e t o meet t h e growing
<=,*
A- , food needs o f t h e i n c r e a s i n g p o p u l a t i o n , b u t i t i s a l s o a f a c t o r
i n almost a11 i n d u s t r i a1 e n t e r p r i s e s , and i t s ~ o n tnuedi
*
- - a v a i l a b i l i t y i s t h e r e f o r e a m a t t e r o f deep concern. A l t h o u g h
YI

w a t e r c o v e r s over 70% o f t h e e a r t h ' s s u r f a c e , o n l y 2.7% o f t h i s

v a l u a b l e r e s o u r c e i s f r e s h w a t e r , o u t o f which l e s s t h a n 1% i S
u s a b l e as t h e r e s t i S e i t h e r f r o z e n i n g l a c i e r s o r i c e caps, o r
e l s e i s l o s t t h r o u g h streams and r i v e r s t o t h e sea. Thus i n
I n d i a , a l t h o u g h t h e p o t e n t i a l water r e s o u r c e i s assessed a t
around 1,869 c u b i c km. p e r year, t h e u t i l i s a b l e w a t e r i s o n l y
about 690 c u b i c km. / y e a r .
*
CS ..l
I F o r t u n a t e l y , water iS n e i t h e r c r e a t e d n o r consumed b u t iS
Ir I.
c o n v e r t e d i n form: r a i n f a l l on t h e mountains becomes r u n o f f t o
!* streams, t h e n r i v e r s , u n t i l i t reaches t h e sea, where e v a p o r a t i o n
into the air, which rises over the mountains, gives rain;
s i m i l a r l y i n d u s t r y uses water m a i n l y f o r c o o l i n g , which i s l o s t
as steam o r d i s c h a r g e d t o r i v e r s due t o i n c r e a s e i n d i s s o l v e d
s a l t s , and a g r i c u l t u r e uses w a t e r f o r i r r i g a t i o n , where i t i s
drawn up by t h e p l a n t r o o t s , and m o s t l y l o s t t o t h e atmosphere
--,l ; t h r o u g h t r a n s p i r a t i o n f r o m t h e l e a v e s . Hence t h e n a t u r a l c y c l e . .
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a l l o w s &he u t i l i s a b l e w a t e r a v a i l a b l e t o us t o be r e p l e n i s h e d .
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 To s u s t a i n and improve t h e q u a l i t y o f l i f e however, it remains
necessary t o i n v e s t i n systems t o t a p t h i s water, treat it t o
meet necessary standards, transport it, store it, distribute i t
t o t h e u s e r s , and t h e n t o c o l l e c t , t r e a t and s a f e l y d i s p o s e o f
t h e r e s u l t i n g waste water t o a l l o w i t s r e u s e f u r t h e r down t h e
c y c l e . A l l o f t h i s r e q u i r e s a s i g n i f i c a n t investment w i t h i n t h e
framework o f an e f f e c t i v e water management s t r a t e g y .

A comprehensive w a t e r management s t r a t e g y can be c o n s i d e r e d t o

comprise o f t h r e e b a s i c f a c t o r s :

i) w a t e r r e s o u r c e a v a i l a b i l i t y and a l l o c a t i o n
ii ) water use r e d u c t i o n by p r o c e s s a1t e r a t i o n o r r e c y c l i n g
iii) t r e a t m e n t o f wastewaters f o r r e u s e by o t h e r s e c t o r s

Resource A1lo c a t ion

D e c i s i o n s a f f e c t i n g r e s o u r c e a1l o c a t i on a t t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l a r e
l a r g e l y p01 it i c a l i n n a t u r e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n I n d i a where w a t e r
iS an i s s u e under s t a t e c o n t r o l . I t i S i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y r e c o g n i s e d
t h a t p o l i t i c a l d e c i s i o n s , t a k e n f o r a s h o r t - t e r m g a i n , may n o t
be optimum i n terms o f l o n g - t e r m b e n e f i t s f o r a l l o c a t i o n
p r i o r i t i e s . The p r e f e r e n t i a1 a1 l o c a t i o n o f water t o a g r i c u l t u r e
f o r i r r i g a t i o n a t s u b s i d i s e d p r i c e s l e a d s t o c o n c e n t r a t i o n on
more p r o f i t a b l e c r o p s , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f t h e i r w a t e r needs f o r
c u l t i v a t i o n o r t h e e f f e c t o f t h e i r g r o w t h on s o i l d e g r a d a t i o n ,
and t o w a s t e f u l forms o f i r r i g a t i o n ( i t becomes u n a t t r a c t i v e t o
@rake c a p i t a l i n v e s t m e n t i n d r i p i r r i g a t i o n schemes, f o r example,
d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e consume o n l y a f r a c t i o n o f t h e amount
used by normal w a t e r i n g a v o i d l o n g - t e r m problems of
s a l i n i z a t i o n o f t h e s o i l ) . The use o f s t a t e o r n a t i o n a l b o r d e r s
a s b o u n d a r i e s f o r w a t e r c o n t r o l g i v e s r i s e t o d i s p u t e s as u s e r s
, a t t h e l b w e r reaches o f r i v e r s demand i n c r e a s i n g r e c o g n i t i o n o f
t h e i r r i g h t s and r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e w a t e r s , b o t h i n terms o f
q u a n t i t y and q u a l i t y , s i n c e each s t a t e i s l o o k i n g p r i m a r i l y a t
t h e b e n e f i t s t o i t s own r e s i d e n t s r a t h e r t h a n a t t h e optimum use
o f t h e w a t e r r e s o u r c e as a whole. T h i s s i t u a t i o n may be a v o i d e d
b y p l a c i n g c o n t r o l o f t h e w a t e r r e s o u r c e s under t h e a u t h o r i t y of
b a s i n manaqement bo,d,ies, such ss a r e used i n France and many
o t h e r Western n a t i o n s , whose r o l e i s t o a l l o c a t e and c o n t r o l t h e
a b s t r a c t i o n o f raw w a t e r t h r o u g h o u t t h e catchment a r e a o f each
major r i v e r b a s i n t o g e t h e r w i t h c o n t r o l o f t h e a c c e p t a b l e q u a l i t y
o f d i s c h a r g e s o f used w a t e r s back t o t h e r i v e r . I t i s i m p o r t a n t
t o note t h a t control o f abstraction applies also t o t h e
e x t r a c t i o n o f groundwater f r o m b o r e h o l es o r tubewel l s , s i nce
u n c o n t r o l l e d pumping f r o m a q u i f e r s may e a s i l y become " water
.
m i n i ng", i e. permanent depf e t i on o f t h e groundwater r e s o u r c e
through a b s t r a c t i o n a t a h i g h e r r a t e than replenishment. This
p r a c t i s e may q u i c k l y l e a d t o an i r r e v e r s i b l e d e t e r i o r a t i o n o f t h e
a q u i f e r s t r u c t u r e , o r t o s a l i n e i n t r u s i o n near t h e c o a s t , as i S
a l r e a d y observed a t Madras and i n G u j a r a t .

RECYCLING

Water r e c y c l i n g i n v o l v e s t h e r e u s e o f wastewaters f r o m one s t a g e

o f an i n d u s t r i a l p r o c e s s as a source o f raw water i n t h e p l a n t
i t s e l f , w i t h o r without p r i o r treatment. A t i t s u l t i m a t e l e v e l ,
t h i s g i v e s r i s e t o t h e " z e r o d i s c h a r g e " t a r g e t envisaged by t h e
USA's Clean Water A c t , and hence a g r e a t l y reduced consumption
o f t h e w a t e r r e s o u r c e by i n d u s t r y . Thi S i s i n c r e a s i n g l y i m p o r t a n t
i n I n d i a as t h e o v e r a l l w a t e r demand iS expected t o i n c r e a s e f r o m
552 c u b i c km./year i n 1990 t o 1,050 c u b i c km./year i n 2025, w i t h
t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f w a t e r used by i n d u s t r y i n c r e a s i n g f r o m 2.7% t o
11.5%. One need only compare t h i s projected demand to fhe
a v a i l ab1e s u p p l y n o t e d e a r l i e r as b e i ng o n l y 690 c u b i c km. /year
t o see t h e s i z e o f t h e looming problem, and t o a p p r e c i a t e t h e
n e c e s s i t y f o r r e d u c t i o n i n t h e i n d u s t r i a l water requirement.

Techniques and a p p l i c a t i o n s o f w a t e r r e c y c l i n g a r e h i g h l y
i n d u s t r y and p l a n t - s p e c i f i c , however t o g i v e a comparison o f a
South I n d i a n i n d u s t r i a1 u n i t w i t h i n d u s t r y b e s t - p r a c t i se i n t h e
USA, t h e 1995 n e t demand f o r c o o l i n g w a t e r make-up by t h e t h r e e
mai n u n i t s c o m p r i s i n g Madras 1 S Manal i in d u s t r i a1 area iS
e s t i m a t e d a t 66.5 M l / d . The average c o n c e n t r a t i o n r a t i o i n t h e
.
c o o l ing systems iS around 2.5, i e. 40% o f t h e w a t e r (some 26
m i l l i o n l i t r e s p e r day) i s n o t a c t u a l l y used i n c o o l i n g b u t i s
d i scharged as the c o n c e n t r a ti on of d i ss01 ved sal t s becomes
e x c e s s i v e and l e a d s t o s c a l i n g o f t h e system p i p e w o r k . However
w i t h o u t s u f f i c i e n t t r e a t m e n t , t h i S d i scharged w a t e r i t s e l f iS
a l s o t o o p o l l u t e d f o r use by downstream cansumers, and i s l o s t
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from t h e water resource. I n t h e USA, advanced c o o l ing

c o n d i t i o n i n g systems, a v o i d i n g t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f mu1 t i c h e m i c a l 1
dosing, have a1 lowed t h e average c o n c e n t r a t i o n r a t i o t o r i s e
above 20, i.e. l e s s t h a n 5% o f t h e w a t e r i s l o s t by d i s c h a r g e ,
o r an improvement i n water use o f around 90%. Similarly the
i n t r o d u c t i o n o f p r i m a r y ( e q u i p m e n t - l e v e l ) , secondary (process-
le v e l ) , and t e r t i a r y (p1 a n t - l e v e l ) w a t e r r e c y c l ing t e c h n i q u e s has
a1lowed paper and p u l p m i 11s i n Europe, USA and Canada t o reduce
w a t e r consumption t o around 20 m 3/tonne, w i t h t h e b e s t p l a n t s now
achieving "zero d i scharget', whi 1 s t t h e average I n d i a n m i l 1
u t i l i s e s 200 - 250 m3 o f w a t e r t o produce t h e same tonne o f
paper, and t h a t w i t h an e f f l u e n t u n s u i t a b l e f o r r e u s e by o t h e r
consumers i n t h e w a t e r c h a i n

REUSE OF WASTEWATER

Reuse i n v o l v e s the treatment o f one user group's discharged

e f f l u e n t as a raw w a t e r source f o r a subsequent u s e r , and i s an
area of growing international importance as water suppl i e s
worldwide come under in c r e a s i ng pressure from competing
consumers. I t i s a l s o an area i n which I n d i a a l r e a d y has some
e a r l y experience, d e s p i t e t h e r e l a t i v e n o v e l t y o f t h e t e c h n i q u e s ,
h a v i n g had a p l a n t r e c y c l i n g 5 M l / d o f domestic sewage f o r use
as c o o l ing water and process w a t e r by Union Carbide, Bombay s i n c e
the early seventies. More recently, both Madras Fertilizers
t im i t e d and Madras Ref in e r i es L i m i t e d have r e c e n t 1y put up
advanced wastewater t r e a t m e n t p l a n t s based on t e r t i a r y t r e a t m e n t
f o l l o w e d by r e v e r s e osmosis (RO) t e c h n o l o g y t o p a r t l y meet t h e i r
water needs f r o m reuse o f domestic sewage from Madras C i t y . A
f u r t h e r expansion o f reuse o f domestic sewage by i n d u s t r y in
Madras i S planned w i t h a new f a c i lit y t o be c o n s t r u c t e d , s t a r t i n g
i n 1997, under funding from the Japanese OECF, once again
probably u s i n g R 0 technology.

Advanced wastewater treatment for reuse normally requires

t e r t i a r y t r e a t m e n t o f t h e sewage t o reduce f u r t h e r t h e suspended
solids, e i t h e r through f i l t r a t i o n o r flotation, together with
removal o f phosphorus and n i t r o g e n . Carbon a b s o r p t i o n may a l s o
be used t o remove speci f i c o r g a n i c p01l u t a n t s . Such t r e a t m e n t may
alone be sufficient to allow the wastewater to be used in
 IF-'
i n d u s t r i a1 appl i c a t i ons, o r f o r i r r i gat ian p u ~ p o ~ egrowibed
s
t h e r e are no pathinagens present, however where t h e t r e a t e d
sewage c o n t a i n s a h i gR level o f d i ssslved s a l t s , o r where i t i S
intended for eventual potab3e reuse f o l l o w i n g groundwater
r e i n j e c t i o n such as a t Orange County, Cal if o r n i a ' s Water Factory
#21, deminsral i s a t i o n and d i s i n f e c t i o n i s a1so r e q u i r e d . A1 though
R 0 has been used on the other demineral i s a t i o n
p7 a n t s a t Madras,
t e c h n i ques such as evaporati on, e1e c t r o d i aTysi S o r i o n exchange
may by e q u a l l y s u i t a b l e and may have lower c a p i t a l and running
c o s t s . As w i t h r e c y c l i n g , P h i s i s an area where t h e exact
requi reaients of t h e user(s1 must be p r e c i s e l y determined i n order
t h a t t h e most e f f i c i e n t process can be i d e n t i f i e d to meet the
q u a l i t y requirewent3 i n the most cos*-afFsctive manner.

CONCLUSION

Despite i t s fundamental and apparently simple nature, t h e t o p i c

o f water and i t s management t o t h e b e n e f i t o f a l l s e c t o r s o f t h e
community i s becoming an i n c r e a s i n g l y complex f i e l d , and t h i s
t r e n d i s s e t t o c o n t i n u e w i t h t h e i n c r e a s i n g p o p u l a t i o n and
u r b a n i s a t i o n o f I n d i a . O v e r a l l c o n t r o l o f t h e a b s t r a c t i o n , use
and discharge o f water must be seen t o be a p r i o r i t y , and t h e
best worldwide p r a c t i s e s o f i n d u s t r y must be adopted as o n l y
these w i l l secure t h e long- term a v a i l a b i l i t y o f t h e water
resource necessary f o r t h e f u t u r e development o f t h e country. A s
I n d i a n i n d u s t r y benchmarks i P S o u t p u t qual it y against i t s
i n t e r n a t i o n a l competition, SQ i t must l e a r n t o benchmark i t s
e f f i c i e n t use o f a1 1 i n p u t s , i n c l u d i n g i t s resource o f water.