Odisha's Watco claims 100% household water supply in 29 ULBs

Bhubaneswar: Water Corporation of Odisha (Watco) claimed that it has achieved 100% household water supply coverage across all 29 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under its jurisdiction. The Watco has revealed this at a high-level meeting chaired by housing and urban development (H&UD) minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra.

A communication from the H&UD department says that the Watco’s present water supply capacity has reached 988.89 MLD, significantly exceeding the current urban demand of 700.67 MLD.

The Watco water supply network so far has served over 4.91 million people through 7,63,082 household water connections, officials say.

“The achievement has been further strengthened through the successful implementation of flagship ‘Drink from Tap’ (DFT) initiative, which currently provides 24x7 potable water supply in 11 ULBs. Work is actively underway to extend the DFT system to 17 additional urban areas, while planning for implementation in Konark is also in progress,” says the communication.

In 2025-26, the Watco recorded 100% utilisation of its Rs 912 crore budget allocated towards water supply and sewerage infrastructure, including capital assets, salary and non-salary components. In addition to the state budget allocation, the Watco also incurred expenditure of over Rs 500 crore under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, OMBADC and other deposit funds for expansion and strengthening of urban water and sanitation infrastructure.

In line with its technology-driven approach, the Watco has installed 50,000 smart water meters across five pilot cities — Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Rourkela and Berhampur — to improve billing efficiency, reduce non-revenue water and strengthen resource management through smart monitoring systems.

Additionally, the Watco is preparing to undertake major upcoming projects worth Rs 6,129 crore, which include Rs 1,682-crore sewerage project for Sambalpur and Rs 830.97-crore sewerage system for Baripada.

To ensure the highest standards of water safety and quality, Watco currently operates 14 third-party water testing laboratories under PPP mode, while two additional laboratories are coming up.

The Watco has also signed an MoU with IIT-Bhubaneswar for advanced water quality monitoring and technical support.