Water Conservation Opportunities in Industry & Power Sectors

D. Pawan Kumar

Estimated Sectoral Water Demands in India (2009) Water Requirement in Various sectors: Irrigation 688 BCM Drinking Water 56 BCM Industry 12 BCM Energy 5 BCM Others 52 BCM

Depleting reserve apart, energy use for water pumping also key concern area for sectors like agriculture, industry and power, for water pumping.

Agricultural sector draws 104 Billion Units of electricity.

Industry sector draws 25 Billion Units of Electricity. PWW draws 12 Billion Units of electricity. Power Sector accounts for almost 4-5% of generation,

towards pumping needs.

As a part of CSR and also for survival needs, industry & power sector have been addressing water & energy conservation for concurrent benefits. The good practices include:Adopting Reduce-Reuse-Recycle-Recharge approach Developing standards and reporting procedures for

water consumption Determining water foot prints of specific products and

services Adoption of zero discharge systems Process modifications for reducing water energy

consumption Condensate recovery in steam systems

The good practices include (Contd)

CoC improvements in cooling water systems Adoption of Reverse Osmosis systems Green belt development Re-use of effluents Adopting community based approach through

awareness for better water efficiency Roof top water collection Rain water collection Surface water collection Use of blow down water for gardening Promotion of water energy nexus interventions. Adoption of cleaner production initiatives

The good practices include (Contd)

Adopting Percolation ponds Nozzle size reduction in direct use Minimizing wastage in desert coolers, fire

hydrants, tanks, canteens, urinals and colonies Rain water harvesting by adopting check dams,

peculation pits, Recharging wells Re-use drain water for fire fighting Re-use back water for process Use ICT (Google Earth) for water shed

development Adoption of water efficient devices

The good practices include (Contd)

Adopting water efficient drip irrigation equipment Promoting water user communities and self help groups Promoting lift irrigation projects Adopting dry ash disposal systems Use of fly ash as building material and for cement

manufacture Ash-water ratio optimization in power plants Adopting energy efficient pumps, motors and piping

systems Promoting demand side management in the use of water

and energy Promoting agricultural pump rectification. Bio- methanation in sewage treatment plants for power

generation

Conclusions: Going by experiences so far, major drivers for

water conservation are felt to be : Local regulatory interventions/policy . Shortfall in quality and quantity of water supply . Prevalence of focus on CSR. Raising water and electricity tariffs. Compliance needs of ISO standards. If not already being in place, water conservation

could soon emerge as a key focus area in industry and power sectors.