Chennai, a pioneer in recycling wastewater

Published on September 16, 2013 06:27 by Puja Gupta in Business

Even as several countries lack data on reuse of wastewater, Metro Water officials claim that Chennai is the pioneer in utilising treated wastewater for industrial use.

A study by Japan's Tottori University and the United Nations University's Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) claims that almost one-third of nations have zero information on the reuse of waste water. However, Chennai's Metro Water officials say that they are currently providing 45 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of treated water to industries.

"We are also planning to generate 60 MLD of additional treated water to be supplied to Sriperumbudur Industrial Estate, which is a hub of industrial activities, in the outskirts of the city," says a Metro Water official.

He adds that a detailed report for the project is likely to be completed within two months. But, experts want Metro Water to do more. S Janakarajan, professor of Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), feels that recycling is important for conservation of water. He says water management is complete only when we reuse water.