<p><em><strong>By Rini Dutta, Lead – Partnerships & Program Design, Villgro</strong></em></p><p>Every year, Indian cities oscillate between two extremes - overflowing drains one season and parched taps the next. The contradiction is not new, but it is worsening. Despite receiving heavy rainfall, urban India remains chronically water-deficient. The issue is not only scarcity but deep systemic inefficiency of urban water management.</p><p>According to NITI Aayog’s <em>Composite <a href="https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/CompositeWaterManagementIndex.pdf" rel="nofollow">Water Management Index</a></em>, India’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030, placing hundreds of millions at risk. Already, 600 million people face high to extreme water stress. The country ranks 120 out of 122 globally on water quality, with contamination reported across major cities.</p><p><strong>The urban water crisis stems from multiple interlinked challenges:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Over-extraction of groundwater in rapidly expanding cities.</p></li><li><p>Massive losses from ageing pipelines and unmetered connections, and inefficient distribution networks cause major water losses, contributing to large volumes of non-revenue water.</p></li><li><p>Inconsistent monitoring of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), and poor maintenance limit wastewater reuse potential.</p></li><li><p>Poor stormwater management and a lack of digital elevation models (DEMs) data, causing recurrent urban flooding.</p></li></ul><p>If these trends continue, India’s urban water demand could double by 2030 while supply falls short by half. Quick fixes will not suffice. What India needs is a technological and institutional transformation, combining data, design, and decentralisation to rebuild trust in urban water systems.</p><p><strong>Technology as the First Line of Defence</strong></p><p>Cities worldwide have achieved remarkable efficiency through smart infrastructure like real-time monitoring, automated leak detection, and smart metering to reduce losses. In India, several promising innovations are ready for deployment by utilities, industries, and city governments.</p><ul><li><p><strong>AI-driven analytics and digital twins</strong> to pinpoint leaks, faulty meters, and pipeline risks - helping utilities reduce water loss and ensure 24/7 supply.</p></li><li><p><strong>Portable, AI-enabled testing devices</strong> that deliver real-time, onsite water quality analysis for safe decision-making.</p></li><li><p><strong>IoT-based smart meters</strong> give consumers accurate readings while alerting utilities to anomalies.</p></li><li><p><strong>GIS-based water quality systems</strong> that track contamination sources precisely.</p></li><li><p><strong>Drone-based hydrology mapping</strong> to assess water flow and terrain, helping cities identify and prepare for flood risks at scale.</p></li><li><p><strong>Nanobubble technology</strong> that restores water health through energy-efficient oxygenation without chemicals.</p></li><li><p><strong>Compact modular wastewater treatment units</strong> enabling onsite recycling and reuse.</p></li><li><p><strong>Nature-based sewage treatment</strong> that uses gravity and plants to clean water sustainably.</p></li></ul><p>Research institutions such as ICCW at IIT Madras, a centre of excellence in water research, are actively engaged in research to develop low-cost biosensors to detect contamination at source and exploring decentralised wastewater reuse models for housing clusters and small industries. When science meets governance, water becomes visible, measurable, predictable, and therefore manageable.</p><h3><strong>From Scarcity to Systems Thinking</strong></h3><p>Technology alone cannot solve the crisis. Water management is inherently local - shaped by terrain, governance, and behaviour. Solutions that work in Chennai may not be suitable for Pune. The real challenge is to embed technology within collaborative ecosystems that unite municipalities, innovators, researchers, corporates, and communities.</p><p>Such partnerships are already emerging.</p>.<p>The Kolhapur municipality is working with <strong>Solinas</strong>, a startup that inspects and digitises pipelines to curb non-revenue water.<strong> WELL Labs </strong>is supporting the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) with data-driven stormwater and wastewater modelling, and is helping the BBMP scientifically integrate nature-based solutions and blue-green-grey infrastructure (BGGI) into Bengaluru’s stormwater drainage systems. with data-driven stormwater and wastewater modelling. <strong>Titan</strong>, through its <em>Design Impact Awards,</em> is funding startups that conserve water. And housing societies are increasingly adopting <strong>ECOSTP’s</strong> nature-based sewage systems that treat wastewater without power or chemicals.</p><p>Each initiative contributes a data point. Together, they can form the foundation of evidence-based urban water governance.</p><h3><strong>The Economics of Conservation</strong></h3><p>The argument for efficiency is not just environmental; it is economic. A city that loses half its treated water also loses half its investment. Every litre saved or reused translates into fiscal space for expanding coverage to underserved areas.</p><p>Predictive maintenance, automated controls, and digital twins enable utilities to anticipate breakdowns instead of reacting to them. These are not luxuries but necessities in a climate-stressed world where floods and droughts coexist within the same district.</p><p>Corporate participation is equally vital. Companies can extend their sustainability commitments beyond factory gates — by adopting zero-liquid-discharge (ZLDs) systems, investing in recharge structures, or supporting pilots that digitise urban water systems. When industry co-owns the problem, innovation accelerates.</p><p><strong>Three Shifts to Secure Every Drop</strong></p><p>India’s urban water future depends on three fundamental shifts:</p><ol><li><p><strong>From reactive management to predictive governance</strong>, leveraging data, AI, and real-time visibility to detect leaks before they become crises.</p></li><li><p><strong>From linear use to circular reuse</strong> by treating wastewater as a resource, not a liability.</p></li><li><p><strong>From siloed action to systemic collaboration</strong> through linking utilities, innovators, and communities in one shared mission.</p></li></ol><h3><strong>A Call to Action</strong></h3><p>India’s water story need not remain one of scarcity. With the right mix of technology and collaboration, our cities can become models of resilience. Science exists. The innovators exist. What’s needed now is integration of ideas, institutions, and incentives.</p><p>The cost of inaction is visible in parched borewells and tanker-lined streets. But so is the potential for transformation. By embracing a data-driven, technology-enabled, and inclusive approach, India can secure every drop — not only for the cities we inhabit today, but for the generations that will inherit them.</p>
<p><em><strong>By Rini Dutta, Lead – Partnerships & Program Design, Villgro</strong></em></p><p>Every year, Indian cities oscillate between two extremes - overflowing drains one season and parched taps the next. The contradiction is not new, but it is worsening. Despite receiving heavy rainfall, urban India remains chronically water-deficient. The issue is not only scarcity but deep systemic inefficiency of urban water management.</p><p>According to NITI Aayog’s <em>Composite <a href="https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-03/CompositeWaterManagementIndex.pdf" rel="nofollow">Water Management Index</a></em>, India’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply by 2030, placing hundreds of millions at risk. Already, 600 million people face high to extreme water stress. The country ranks 120 out of 122 globally on water quality, with contamination reported across major cities.</p><p><strong>The urban water crisis stems from multiple interlinked challenges:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Over-extraction of groundwater in rapidly expanding cities.</p></li><li><p>Massive losses from ageing pipelines and unmetered connections, and inefficient distribution networks cause major water losses, contributing to large volumes of non-revenue water.</p></li><li><p>Inconsistent monitoring of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), and poor maintenance limit wastewater reuse potential.</p></li><li><p>Poor stormwater management and a lack of digital elevation models (DEMs) data, causing recurrent urban flooding.</p></li></ul><p>If these trends continue, India’s urban water demand could double by 2030 while supply falls short by half. Quick fixes will not suffice. What India needs is a technological and institutional transformation, combining data, design, and decentralisation to rebuild trust in urban water systems.</p><p><strong>Technology as the First Line of Defence</strong></p><p>Cities worldwide have achieved remarkable efficiency through smart infrastructure like real-time monitoring, automated leak detection, and smart metering to reduce losses. In India, several promising innovations are ready for deployment by utilities, industries, and city governments.</p><ul><li><p><strong>AI-driven analytics and digital twins</strong> to pinpoint leaks, faulty meters, and pipeline risks - helping utilities reduce water loss and ensure 24/7 supply.</p></li><li><p><strong>Portable, AI-enabled testing devices</strong> that deliver real-time, onsite water quality analysis for safe decision-making.</p></li><li><p><strong>IoT-based smart meters</strong> give consumers accurate readings while alerting utilities to anomalies.</p></li><li><p><strong>GIS-based water quality systems</strong> that track contamination sources precisely.</p></li><li><p><strong>Drone-based hydrology mapping</strong> to assess water flow and terrain, helping cities identify and prepare for flood risks at scale.</p></li><li><p><strong>Nanobubble technology</strong> that restores water health through energy-efficient oxygenation without chemicals.</p></li><li><p><strong>Compact modular wastewater treatment units</strong> enabling onsite recycling and reuse.</p></li><li><p><strong>Nature-based sewage treatment</strong> that uses gravity and plants to clean water sustainably.</p></li></ul><p>Research institutions such as ICCW at IIT Madras, a centre of excellence in water research, are actively engaged in research to develop low-cost biosensors to detect contamination at source and exploring decentralised wastewater reuse models for housing clusters and small industries. When science meets governance, water becomes visible, measurable, predictable, and therefore manageable.</p><h3><strong>From Scarcity to Systems Thinking</strong></h3><p>Technology alone cannot solve the crisis. Water management is inherently local - shaped by terrain, governance, and behaviour. Solutions that work in Chennai may not be suitable for Pune. The real challenge is to embed technology within collaborative ecosystems that unite municipalities, innovators, researchers, corporates, and communities.</p><p>Such partnerships are already emerging.</p>.<p>The Kolhapur municipality is working with <strong>Solinas</strong>, a startup that inspects and digitises pipelines to curb non-revenue water.<strong> WELL Labs </strong>is supporting the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) with data-driven stormwater and wastewater modelling, and is helping the BBMP scientifically integrate nature-based solutions and blue-green-grey infrastructure (BGGI) into Bengaluru’s stormwater drainage systems. with data-driven stormwater and wastewater modelling. <strong>Titan</strong>, through its <em>Design Impact Awards,</em> is funding startups that conserve water. And housing societies are increasingly adopting <strong>ECOSTP’s</strong> nature-based sewage systems that treat wastewater without power or chemicals.</p><p>Each initiative contributes a data point. Together, they can form the foundation of evidence-based urban water governance.</p><h3><strong>The Economics of Conservation</strong></h3><p>The argument for efficiency is not just environmental; it is economic. A city that loses half its treated water also loses half its investment. Every litre saved or reused translates into fiscal space for expanding coverage to underserved areas.</p><p>Predictive maintenance, automated controls, and digital twins enable utilities to anticipate breakdowns instead of reacting to them. These are not luxuries but necessities in a climate-stressed world where floods and droughts coexist within the same district.</p><p>Corporate participation is equally vital. Companies can extend their sustainability commitments beyond factory gates — by adopting zero-liquid-discharge (ZLDs) systems, investing in recharge structures, or supporting pilots that digitise urban water systems. When industry co-owns the problem, innovation accelerates.</p><p><strong>Three Shifts to Secure Every Drop</strong></p><p>India’s urban water future depends on three fundamental shifts:</p><ol><li><p><strong>From reactive management to predictive governance</strong>, leveraging data, AI, and real-time visibility to detect leaks before they become crises.</p></li><li><p><strong>From linear use to circular reuse</strong> by treating wastewater as a resource, not a liability.</p></li><li><p><strong>From siloed action to systemic collaboration</strong> through linking utilities, innovators, and communities in one shared mission.</p></li></ol><h3><strong>A Call to Action</strong></h3><p>India’s water story need not remain one of scarcity. With the right mix of technology and collaboration, our cities can become models of resilience. Science exists. The innovators exist. What’s needed now is integration of ideas, institutions, and incentives.</p><p>The cost of inaction is visible in parched borewells and tanker-lined streets. But so is the potential for transformation. By embracing a data-driven, technology-enabled, and inclusive approach, India can secure every drop — not only for the cities we inhabit today, but for the generations that will inherit them.</p>
