Water scarcity is becoming a critical issue in urban India, impacting both major cities and smaller tier-2 and tier-3 towns. A report published by WHO and UNICEF in 2019 estimated that 91 million Indians still do not have access to basic water supply.
Climate change is accelerating the crisis—glaciers are melting, rainfall has become unpredictable, and excessive groundwater extraction, coupled with pollution from sewage and industrial waste, is further diminishing freshwater availability.
Many urban areas are increasingly reliant on water tankers, which themselves depend on dwindling groundwater reserves. With growing cities and increasing populations, it is evident that freshwater demand especially in urban India is outpacing supply.
This is just the beginning of a larger crisis.
Revolutionising Wastewater Treatment with Innovation
Walking through major cities lined with towering buildings, we often notice polluted water draining along the roads. A report by the Central Pollution Control Board revealed that in 2020-21, urban India discharged over 72 billion litres of sewage every day. However, with treatment facilities handling only 50% of this load, untreated wastewater continued to pollute natural ecosystems.
The inadequacy in wastewater treatment is typically because existing treatment systems are costly, energy-intensive, and inefficient, making it difficult to implement these solutions.
But what if we could turn that polluted water into usable water?
Picture yourself in Goa—pristine beaches, golden sunsets, gigantic water bodies stretching as far as the eye can see, all of this feels like paradise. But beneath this beauty lies a growing crisis. With booming tourism and urban sprawl, Goa’s water bodies are being overwhelmed by untreated wastewater, seeping into the sand and poisoning marine life.
Tellus Habitat, a start-up working in urban wastewater management, has developed, R3H2O, an integrated wastewater treatment system which was deployed at a popular beach shack in Goa.
Designed with a decentralised, modular approach, this sewage treatment system utilises an innovative biofilter and process enhancements to make treated water suitable for various non-potable applications, cutting down freshwater consumption.
With a presence in different regions of Goa, Karnataka, and Rajasthan, Tellus Habitat at is working toward sustainable wastewater solutions. Seema Sukhani, Founder, Tellus Habitat explains, “We believe wastewater doesn’t have to be a liability—it can be a resource that helps us protect our water for future generations.”
“Previously generating 15,000 litres of wastewater daily, the shack now treats and recycles over 62% of it. The reclaimed water is used for toilet flushing, cleaning, and gardening, reducing freshwater consumption and lowering operational costs, ultimately boosting profitability,” she added.
Tellus Habitat
Managing sewage is just one part of the solution—equally important is ensuring that toxic industrial effluents do not degrade water sources and disrupt natural ecosystems.
Industries consume vast amounts of water, and as they grow, wastewater discharge is bound to increase. In India’s manufacturing clusters alone, 13.5 billion litres of wastewater are produced daily, yet only 60% undergo treatment at 190+ Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs).
Worse still, 6.2 billion litres of industrial wastewater remain untreated nationwide each day, heightening pollution and health risks, as noted by India Infrastructure Research.
To address this, Lambert Water has developed a Water Battery™, which enhances traditional systems by reducing sludge, chemical use, and downtime.
By treating wastewater on-site for immediate reuse, it reduces reliance on centralised infrastructure and conserves freshwater. Installed at a chemical plant in Maharashtra, Lambert’s system required 50% less space than conventional setups, reduced sludge by 70%, cut chemical use by 90%, and significantly lowered greenhouse gas emissions, while also enabling treated water reuse for cooling towers and gardening.
Abhijeet Kumar, Founder, of Lambert Water emphasised that every drop treated and reused is a step closer to a resilient, water-secure world and said, “This is the time to act—if we don’t address wastewater treatment now, there may be no going back. We need to take steps to create a future where clean water is not a luxury but a basic right.”
Furthermore, Kumar elaborated on a long-term vision to streamline the installation process for wastewater treatment plants. He emphasised, “We envision shifting the wastewater treatment industry from an engineering-heavy, civil-based model to a product-based model, where installing a treatment plant is as simple as swapping the battery from cars.”
Tackling Carbon Emissions in Wastewater Treatment
Traditional wastewater treatment methods rely heavily on energy-intensive processes, making them part of the very problem they aim to solve. As environmental concerns grow, so does the need for a greener alternative.
To break this loop of high emissions and energy consumption, JSP Enviro Private Limitedi, has developed a carbon-neutral technological solution for industrial effluent treatment using Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs).
This technology efficiently treats high-organic-content industrial effluent while reducing operational costs by 70%. The system has a specialised microbial consortium, a coated anode for enhanced biofilm formation, and a catalyst-coated cathode for improved oxygen reduction.
For decades, wastewater was treated as nothing more than a problem—something to be disposed of, often at great environmental cost. But today, a paradigm shift is underway, fuelled by technology and innovative thinking. Priyadharshini Mani, Founder of JSP Enviro, highlights this changing mindset, stating, “Wealth from Waste is a fitting phrase for wastewater management.”
“We are planning to explore AI and machine learning to optimise the water treatment and detect any faults in the system early on. IoT devices will be used to remotely monitor and control the process,” she added.
Furthermore, she mentioned that AI can help improve efficiency and reduce the operational cost. Since the carbon neutral technology generates bioelectricity, AI and IoT will aid in real-time energy monitoring and capturing the energy efficiently.
The water crisis is a reality, resembling the dystopian scenarios once confined to films. There has never been a more urgent need to find and deploy sustainable wastewater management practises than now.
The start-ups Social Alpha works with embody this vision, bringing together unique, tech-driven approaches to make accessibility to clean water more inclusive and effective.
As cities expand and industries grow expand, so will the challenges of wastewater management, where traditional capex and opex intensive wastewater management systems may not be viable to address the extent of the challenges. The future belongs to smart, decentralised technologies that enable on-site treatment and reuse, reduce land footprints, conserve energy, and minimize freshwater usage for non-potable needs. We need to relook at our approach to wastewater management—not just as a necessity, but as an opportunity to redefine urban sustainability. By embracing cutting-edge technology and fostering innovation, we can turn wastewater into a valuable resource, ensuring that clean water is accessible to all.
The choices we make today will define the water security of generations to come. This World Water Day, Social Alpha reinforces its commitment to supporting start-ups developing transformative water solutions for a resilient planet.
– Written by Sakshi Bhatt and Anusha Bhansali, Social Alpha