International Practices

&

Indian Challenges in

Wastewater Reuse

Presented at:Waste Water Recycle & Reuse

The Need of the Hour Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi

18th April 2012Presented by:

Subhash Verma

Overview of Indian Water Sector• Key drivers

– Demand-Supply gaps– Urbanization– Regulations

• Opportunities– Efficiency in water supply – Wastewater reuse – Energy from waste

• Technical Challenges

– Lack of raw water – Changing water use patterns– Lack of adequate technical expertise

• Financial Challenges– Capital intensive– Tariffs are too low

• Social Challenges– Water is a state subject– Water is a highly political

Water Sector Scenario in Urban India(Significantly greater focus on water sector in JNNURM-2)

Source: XI Plan Documents, Planning Commission

What is Wastewater Reuse?

Terminology

– Water reuse• The beneficial use of treated

wastewater for agriculture, industry, etc.

– Water reclamation• Reclamation involves all

processes used to treat wastewater so that it can be beneficially reused

– Water recycling• Recycling generally means reuse

of wastewater back in the same cycle where it is generated.

Categories of Water Reuse– Indirect Reuse

• Reuse of wastewater within the context of natural water systems (rivers, aquifers, etc.). The ultimate indirect reuse is through the global hydrologic cycle

• Other terms: Indirect potable reuse

– Direct Reuse• The direct beneficial reuse of

treated wastewater for agriculture, industry, etc.

• Direct potable reuse: the reuse of reclaimed water for potable uses

Definitions• Beneficial reuse

• Intentional vs incidental reuse

• Direct vs indirect

• Potable vs non-potable

Refer the “book”

WATER REUSEMETCALF & EDDY / AECOM

Driving Factors for Water Reuse

• Water Availability

• Water Consumption

• Water Quality

Benefits of Water Reuse

• Important element of integrated water resources utilization and management

• Treated effluent is used as a water resource for many possible beneficial purposes

• For cities, wastewater would not be discharged to the water bodies thus reducing pollution to the water environment and not creating public health issues

Considerations for Water Reuse Planning

The foundation of successful water reuse programs:

– Providing reliable treatment to meet water quality requirements and environmental regulations for the intended reuse

– Protection of public health and the Environment

– Gaining public acceptance.

– Economic viability

Public Health and Water Quality Considerations

Physical water quality considerations Turbidity, color, etc.

Chemical water quality considerations Chemical constituents including solids, metals, nitrogen, phosphorus,

etc.

Biological water quality considerations Pathogens including bacteria, helminths, virus, etc.

Emerging water quality considerations Pharmaceuticals, hormonal products, personal care products, other

EDC’s.

Water Reuse Design Criteria

• Water quality requirements

• Monitoring requirements

• Treatment process requirements

• Treatment reliability requirements

• Operational requirements

• Cross-connection control provisions

• Use area controls

Regulatory Water Reuse Criteria

International Guidelines (WHO Guidelines)

Country Guidelines and Requirements (U.S):

– U.S. EPA guidelines

– State agency requirements and guidelines

– Local (county and municipal) requirements

– Other Guidelines

India has no specific water reuse guidelines at the present juncture….we need to form India specific guidelines/regulations

WHO Guidelines

• The WHO Guidelines provide for an "integrated protective management framework for maximizing the public health benefits of wastewater, excreta and greywater use in agriculture and aquaculture.“

Health Component Establishes risk level associated with each

identified health hazard

Defines a level of health protection

Identifies health protection measures

Implementation Component Establishes monitoring and assessment

procedures

Defines institutional oversight

Requires system documentation

Confirmation by independent surveillance

U.S. EPA Regulatory Guidelines

• Disinfected tertiary effluents

– Typical uses: urban, crop irrigation, recreational

– BOD = 10 mg/L; E.C. = none, etc.

• Disinfected secondary effluents

– Typical uses: restricted access irrigation, landscape uses, construction, wetlands, etc.

– BOD = 30 mg/L; TSS = 30mg/L; E.C. = 200/100 mL; etc.

LET’S HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE INDIAN WATER SECTOR

Value chain of water sector projects

15

Operation & Maintenance

• In-house to ensure quality performance–High plant operation

efficiency–Continued client

interaction–Least downtime

• Higher efficiency due to in-depth understanding of assets created

• Preparation of AMP (asset management plans) for optimizing O&M activities

• High EBITDA segment

Technology

• Planning and technology selection is usually the most critical step

• High value addition

Design & Engineering

• Design & Engineering to reduce project cost and implementation risks

• High value addition

Bought outs

Civil

Technology Integration

• Civil and bought out portion are typically outsourced to dedicated civil contractors

• Technology Integration involves:–Piping–electrical – Instrumentation

Concept

• Project conceptualization

• Stakeholder buy-in

Treatment Technology for Appropriate Uses

Time Sequence (No scale)

Drinking

Water

Raw

Water

Wastewater

Qu

ali

ty o

f W

ate

r (

No

sc

ale

)

Tertiary Treatment•Irrigation of food crops•Landscape irrigation

•Industrial uses

Secondary Treatment•Irrigation of fodder, orchards, etc.

Primary Treatment

Hardness reduction (NF, EDR)

Advanced Treatment• Indirect potable use

Challenges in Wastewater Reuse

• Funding

• Sustainable Operations

– Adopting “right or appropriate” technology

– Energy Efficiencies

Funding

• JNNURM funds

• Fund from multilateral funding agencies

• Budget 2012 has operationalised Irrigation Water Resource Finance Company (IWRFC) to fund water sector projects focusing on financing sub-sectors

– micro-irrigation,

– contract farming,

– wastewater management and sanitation

By adopting good & sustainable design practices, we can reduce power, chemical and residual disposal costs

Power42%

Chemical18%

Manpower22%

Residual disposal12%

Maintenance6%

The Water-Energy Relationship

Typical Range = 0.5 to 5 kWh/m3

Source: California Energy Commission, 2005 Integrated Energy Policy Report

Supply & Conveyance

Water Treatment

End-useAgriculturalResidentialCommercialIndustrial

WaterDistribution

Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater CollectionDischarge

Recycled Water Treatment

Recycled Water Distribution

Source

Source

[0-4]

[0.03-4][.18-0.3]

[0.1-0.3]

[.28-1.15][0-0.1]

Water Use Cycle Boundary

Water Use Cycle Energy Intensities(kWh/m3)

Technology options are plenty and tend to be confusing!?!

….we should not get fixated on any particular type of technology

Instead our focus should always be on appropriate value and sustainable

design and engineering

15 year O&M Cost(60 to 65 %)

Capital Cost(35 to 40%)

Engineering Cost(1 to 3%)

15 year O&M Cost(60 to 65 %)

Capital Cost(35 to 40%)

Engineering Cost(1 to 3%)

Hence, the question is…

Should the focus not be on design and engineering for sustainable service delivery?

Questions?

Thank you.