HYDERABAD: Adapting a three-pronged approach - treatment, conservation, and mining - is the only way to protect water from draining out in the future, highlighted panellists at a discussion on the importance of 'Circular Economy - Water', held in the city on Tuesday.
"Every day, 2,270 million litres of water is used in Hyderabad. Of this, 190 crore litres gets wasted as it is discharged into the Musi river. To save this water, it is worth constructing another Krishna Water Supply-like project, even if it is worth another 8,000 crore," said M Dana Kishore, managing director of Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB), while speaking at RePlanet, a joint initiative by The Times of India and Coca Cola with Climate Trends as the knowledge partner.
While he stressed the need for a policy change to preserve the critical resource, Kalpana Ramesh, founder of The Rainwater Project called for increased participation from all stakeholders. "If the private sector, especially builders' community, steps in, the impact can be massive," she said, citing the example of a project her team undertook in Kokapet.
"We restored a two-lakh litre capacity well there, and now the residential community does not need a single tanker. In return, the builder agreed to ensure the project has zero discharge," said Kalpana while underlining how rainwater harvesting isn't a 'cookie-cutter' solution and must be worked out keeping the requirement of a site in mind.
According to Madhulika Choudhary, founder of Dhruvansh, these solutions - both for restoration and treatment - must also be cost-effective so they can be adapted by more people and used extensively.
From her experience of working on rejuvenation of various lakes in the city, she advocated the use of Phytoremediation, a bioremediation process that uses various types of plants to remove contaminants from water. "We have tried it out at Neknampur Lake, and the results have been very good. This technique is robust and low maintenance - something we need for circular economy and sustainable development," Madhulika said.
Dana Kishore also spoke about the need for a change in perception. "There is no maturity in the world to see recycled water as drinkable. Only Singapore has been able to do so. They do not call it waste water; they call it used water. Even STPs are called Water Reclamation Plants," Kishore said.
As the discussion moved towards waste management - an equally crucial environmental concern - IT principal secretary, Jayesh Ranjan stressed the importance of e-waste management. "In 2015, Telangana was one of the first states to come out with a dedicated policy on e-waste. I feel proud that the work we do on e-waste is kind of a role model for other states," he said.