Sustainable water treatment solutions requires a lot of energy and space hence the innovation in the waste water treatment needs to be directed towards minimizing both of them.

The global water and wastewater treatment equipment market size was valued at USD 30.01 billion in 2018 and is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 3.68 per cent by 2025, given this scenario what is your strategy to cater to the water management solutions & services in the growing market demand?

Being the lead EPC player implementing water infrastructure in India, we are well geared to meet the growing demand. We are constantly working on building our in-house capabilities in terms of process know-how, detailed engineering and construction methodologies and expanding our network of vendor partners for various treatment plant equipment as well as different type of pipes. A significant development is the introduction of several digital solutions to minimize hardship at project sites and, at the same time, reduce project timeline. As demand grows, we are continuously adjusting our organization structure to suit the need of our customers. The idea is to stay as close to the customer as possible.

What are the latest technologies in vogue when it comes to water treatment? And how effective is reuse of treated wastewater?
Water treatment is traditionally conventional though there are projects wherein we are using technologies such as activated carbon filter, ultraviolet disinfection etc. Inclined plate settlers are also fast replacing conventional clari-floculators. We are seeing a lot of movement in the area of reuse of treated wastewater too. With increasing stress on fresh water and growing demand for both domestic and industrial consumption, reuse of water is gaining prominence. Many cities are already opting for treated municipal wastewater for industrial applications which is a very good sign. The trend is just starting and we hope it will spread to all the metropolitan and tier-2 cities. Through this we are able to simultaneously address two issues viz. 1. Prevent the pollution of rivers & water bodies by poor quality of treated effluent and 2. Reduce excessive drawing of fresh water from water bodies & aquifers. Today, we have technologies which can ensure the quality of water up to drinking water standard. The political will to push such projects will do a lot of good for the country.

Can you suggest strategies for sustainable wastewater management? How can your products contribute to the same?
We are not manufacturers but essentially an EPC organization. Sustainable wastewater management is a major challenge that all of us face today. In general the wastewater treatment consumes more energy and space and technological developments need to be directed towards minimizing both of them. Wastewater has to be seen as a resource and rather than wasting these resources that also pollutes water bodies, we need to work on recovering them for useful purposes. Sludge, if it can be converted into manure or briquettes, will result in useful products rather than contaminating the earth by just dumping the same. Similarly we can extract ammonia / phosphorous for useful applications.

S Rajavel, Senior Vice President & Head, Water, Smart World & Communication, L&T