Lok Sabha Question No. 2489 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-03
Subject: Water Audit in Industries
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: T.R.V.S. Ramesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2489

ANSWERED ON 03.08.2023

## WATER AUDIT IN INDUSTRIES

## 2489. SHRI T.R.V.S. RAMESH

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether there is any water auditing conducted in water intensive industries like thermal power plants, steel plants, tanneries, pulp and paper, textiles, fertilizers, etc.;

(b) if so, the manner in which waste water is managed in these industries;

(c) the various measures taken for sustainable use of water in the above water intensive industries; and

(d)  whether  there  is  any  plan  for  advanced  waste  water  treatment  technology  to  be  used  in  these industries and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) & (b) The status with regard to water auditing in water intensive industries and management of waste water in these industries along with the steps taken by Government in this regard is as follows:

- i. The study on 'Benchmarking Industrial Water Use to assist policy for enhancing Industrial Water Use  in  India'  was   entrusted  to  The  Energy  and  Resources  Institute  (TERI)  by  National  Water Mission  for  evaluation  of  water  use  in  water  intensive  industries  (viz.  Thermal  Power  Plants, Textiles, Pulp & Paper and Steel Industries) in India through secondary data collection and water audits to identify the specific interventions to enhance water use efficiency and facilitate the process of  setting  up  guidelines  and  benchmarks  for  industrial  water  use  to  assist  the  policy.  TERI  has submitted the Draft Final Reports of Thermal Power Plants, Textiles, Pulp & Paper Industries.
- ii. Notification  dated  24th  September,  2020  of  the  Central  Ground  Water  Authority  makes  it mandatory  to  undertake  annual  water  audit  by  all  industries  including  water  intensive  industries abstracting ground water in excess of 100 cubic meter/ day.
- iii. Under  the  provisions  of  the  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  industry-specific  environmental standards  are  notified  for  consumption  of  freshwater/  discharge  on  inland  surface  water,  public sewer,  land  irrigation,  and  marine  coastal  area.  Compliance  of  these  standards  are  enforced  by concerned State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).
- iv. Regulation  of  industrial  pollution  is  implemented  through  various  provisions  of  'The  Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974' which provides for previous consent of the State Pollution  Control  Board  (SPCB)  for  establishing  any  industry,  operation/  process/  treatment  and disposal system which is likely to discharge sewage or trade effluent.
- v. Cooling water is generally recycled in industries. Waste water generated in the industries is treated in  Effluent  Treatment  Plants  (ETP).  The  conditions  for  reuse/  discharge  of  treated  effluent  are prescribed in Environment Clearance/ Consent issued by Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change/ State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees. Compliance verification of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) ( including Textile , Sugar, Distillery, Pulp & Paper Industries, Fertilizers,  Tannery  ,  Chemicals  etc  )  having  potential  to  discharge  into  river  Ganga  and  its tributaries is being carried out through third party institutes (TPIs) since 2017. GPIs have installed Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) for treatment of waste water and compliance of ETP systems are verified through regular surveillance. Units have also been directed to install Online Connectivity Effluent Monitoring System (OCEMS) for self-regulatory purpose and connect it to State Pollution Control  Board  (SPCB)  and  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  server.  All  the  GPIs  are inspected by joint team of officials from technical institutes and SPCBs for compliance verification.
- vi. CPCB has prepared the Charter, which is based on participatory approach for five water intensive industrial sectors namely; Pulp & Paper, Distillery, Sugar, Textile and Tannery, which suggest the various measures for sustainable use of freshwater through adoption of cleaner technology, waste minimization practices& re-use/recycle. Beside the measures for reduction in freshwater consumption,  Charter  also  promote  the  augmentation  &  up  gradation  of  effluent  treatment  plant (ETP) up to tertiary treatment level. Charter also prescribe the norms for freshwater consumption and wastewater discharge for different categories of these industrial sectors, based on raw material and  product.  Metering  at  freshwater  abstraction  points,  recycling  &  discharge  points  and  record keeping for same is ensured in GPIs.

Besides above measures, it is stated that since water is a state subject, State Governments take several measures for efficient utilization of water within the States, including water audit, implementation of laws and penal action against those violating the rules/ regulations etc. The Central Government supplements the measures and efforts being taken up by the State Governments.

(c) In  the  interest  of  operational  feasibility  and  profitability,  the  water  intensive  industry  adopts  various measures for sustainable use of water. The measures for sustainable use of water need specific tailor solution and therefore differ from industry to industry. However, these measures are primarily based on the objective of reducing water consumption and increasing efforts for water conservation so that the industries become water positive. Adhering to the concept of 3 R's Reduce, Reuse and Recycle at a macro level is the key to comprehensive, holistic and sustainable management of water resources in the water intensive industries.

(d) Usage of advanced waste water treatment technology is a continuous process and varies from industry to industry  depending  upon  environmental  status  and  regulatory  requirement.  As  the  various  types  of contamination of wastewater require a variety of strategies to remove the same, the treatment technologies adopted  are  Activated  Sludge  Process,  Chemical  Oxidation,  Distillation,  zonation,  incineration,  Ultra Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Multiple Effect Evaporator etc. Further, the Ministry of Jal Shakti incentivizes industries through the National Water Awards to improve water management, including innovations in water saving.

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