BHUBANESWAR: In a move aimed at reducing dependence on freshwater sources and improving water sustainability, the state government has introduced a new policy to promote reuse of treated used water (TUW) in urban areas.
The Housing and Urban Development department stated that the policy sets target of 100 per cent collection and treatment of used water by 2030, while ensuring at least 20 pc reuse of treated water by the same year and scaling it up to a minimum of 50 pc by 2036. H&UD department officials said the state currently generates 1,104 MLD of wastewater, of which only around 190 MLD is treated.
The policy promotes treatment of this water and its reuse across multiple sectors, including municipal and institutional uses such as road cleaning, firefighting, sanitation, gardening, and heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems; industrial applications such as power plants, boiler feed, cooling and construction; and agricultural and environmental uses including irrigation, wetland management and rejuvenation of urban water bodies.
To boost the policy adoption, officials said an innovative TUW Tariff Model has been introduced in which the treated water will be priced lower than drinking water, with incentives for farmers, industries and residential societies.
A robust multi-tier governance structure has also been put in place, with a State High Powered Committee (SHPC) as the apex body for policy and pricing decisions, supported by a State Level Technical Committee (SLTC) and a dedicated Treated Used Water Cell (TUWC), while District Coordination Committees (DCCs) will be formed to facilitate local implementation and demand aggregation.
The H&UD department will oversee regulation and standards, with agencies such as OWSSB, WATCO and PHEO responsible for infrastructure development and operations and the Odisha Urban Academy (OUA) leading capacity-building and research initiatives.
The urban local bodies (ULBs) will be nodal agencies for collection, conveyance and treatment of waste water, while OSPCB will enforce environment standards and take up sensitisation programme for its proper implementation.
The policy mandates that in cities where sewerage systems and sewage treatment plants are already operational, at least 20 pc reuse must be achieved within six months of notification, while in areas under development, targets will apply within six months of commissioning of the infrastructure.
Department officials said the policy positions Odisha as a leading state in sustainable urban water management and environmental stewardship, in alignment with the National Framework on Safe Reuse of Treated Water 2023 and the objectives of AMRUT 2.0.