Development of water reuse: a global review with the focus on India

Abstract

The availability of freshwater is evolving as a serious threat to the living community throughout the world due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and rising population. The depletion of groundwater due to excessive water withdrawal and reduced recharge and pollution of the water sources also contribute to this water crisis. The rising pressure on water supplies encourages the use of treated wastewater as an alternative resource. In this study, a global outlook of the developments in water reuse is presented with a focus on the Indian scenario. It can be observed that though there is a scope for water reuse in India owing to the generation of a high volume of wastewater, it is often squandered due to limited research and guidance, and unreliable institutional framework. It is suggested that the reuse of wastewater requires the development of an integrated approach considering all the factors related to technical feasibility, financial viability, and social acceptance together with a guiding management structure that may augment the existing water supplies.

A Review of Reclaimed Water Reuse for Irrigation in South Asian Countries

“…Furthermore, limited attempts to research and implement irrigation with RW have been undertaken in South Asia. 27 India, despite having significantly greater wastewater production and treatment potential than other countries, is not yet able to efficiently reuse wastewater in irrigation in all of its states with large inequalities between different cities and states. Only 32 cities of India are practicing RW reuse.…”

“…Difficulties in social acceptance of the reuse of RW is another key challenge in South Asia and other parts of the world, especially in regions like the Middle East that regard purity and cleanliness as a great virtue . The public can resist the adoption of RW due to physical parameters like color and odor not meeting acceptable quality standards or due to lack of public awareness and education . Several studies further show that societal concerns are sensitive to the type of use, freshwater prices, treated effluent quality, associated economic benefits, and level of trust toward local wastewater treatment utilities. − A study done in Dhulikel of Nepal reported negative perceptions regarding reuse of RW from nearby Dhulikel hospital’s ETP.…”

“…The nonexistence of RW reuse guidelines might be why those countries have not transitioned from untreated wastewater reuse to RW reuse. Furthermore, limited attempts to research and implement irrigation with RW have been undertaken in South Asia …”

“…So, their only option was to directly dispose wastewater to city sewerage without any treatment . India is also facing financial obstacles in establishing RW reuse system due to high cost of WWTP establishment, lack of funding, and limited market viability . Likewise in Bangladesh, textile industries are unable to establish ETPs due to high cost of ETP construction, lack of locally available technologies, high import tax, and high operation and maintenance cost.…”

“…South Asia faces serious challenges related to infrastructure, public perception, regulatory coordination, etc., which restrict the use of RW in agriculture. These challenges mostly arise not from the technological issues associated with using RW that most developed countries are concerned with but from the lack of capacity and willingness to invest in RW projects. , RW projects require significant capital investment and technical expertise for its operation and maintenance, which South Asian countries lack. , Public resistance toward RW, mainly due to health and water quality concerns, is another major issue . Furthermore, clear RW reuse regulatory frameworks which dictate the criteria to be followed by RW users are absent, hindering its widespread adoption.…”