Authors : Vasudevan Rajaram and John R. Sheaffer
In addition, a case study of the Kurkhumbh wastewater recycling plant near Pune, India, will be provided to demonstrate that a Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) can conserve a lot of fresh water in industrial estates. The two case studies demonstrate that wastewater can be economically recycled for reuse.
The paper concludes that every drop of wastewater in rural and urban India should be recycled for reuse so that it does not contaminate our drinking water supplies and conserves scarce water resources for satisfying the thirst of the entire population.
This paper will present two case studies of integrated water management. One case study involves the recycling of treated wastewater for agriculture in Northwest Indiana, USA, which is being planned by the Hammond Sanitary District of Indiana and the Center for Transformation of Waste Technology of Illinois. The other involves an industrial wastewater recycling project near Pune, India, where the wastewater was treated for use within the industrial estate. Such recycling projects are critical for conservation of water resources and to ensure that economic development is facilitated through proper water management.
For example, in 1998, in the Kurkumbh Industrial Estate near Pune, India, the government was supplying clean water to the industries at a subsidised rate of Rs. 8 per cubic meter. They built a wastewater recycling plant and wanted industries to recycle their wastewater for reuse. However, the cost of treating and recycling wastewater was Rs. 15 per cubic meter. Hence, industries were not recycling their wastewater but illegally disposing it and contaminating the surface and groundwater resources. When the government increased the price of clean water to Rs. 18 per cubic meter (the true cost of water delivery), the industries willingly sent their wastewater to the treatment plant and bought the recycled water at Rs. 15 per cubic meter. Hence, the policies of the government in pricing water are critical for implementing integrated water management.
Water used in agriculture can be reduced if there are economic incentives provided for recycling treated wastewater and wasteful water use is priced exorbitantly. In Israel, such pricing policies have resulted in innovations in water recycling and agricultural practices that minimize water usage. Such policies are badly needed in India if the cycle of drought and reduced agricultural productivity resulting from water shortages are to be avoided. The Hammond case study presents such an opportunity in agricultural areas of India, and should be carefully studied for replication.