Bhilwara: Textile process houses in Bhilwara, the state's textile city, are set to stop using groundwater and switch to treated sewage water. The initiative is expected to save lakhs of litres of groundwater every day, at a time when groundwater levels in Rajasthan are falling.
Treated water from the municipal corporation's sewage treatment plant (STP) will be used in place of groundwater. The initiative is aimed at ending the industry's dependence on natural water sources in industrial processes. With this, Bhilwara is set to become the first district in the state to use sewage water in textile industries.
Facility to be available at nominal charge
Bhilwara Municipal Corporation has given Desire Energy Solutions the work of selling treated STP water and delivering it to industrial process houses through a pipeline at a nominal charge. In the first phase, treated water will be supplied to 21 textile processing units in the textile cluster on Chittorgarh Road. In later phases, other industrial clusters in the district will also be connected to the network.
Lakhs of litres of groundwater to be saved
Compliance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) norms in the industrial sector will also be strengthened.
The Jodhpur administration had earlier floated tenders for industrial use of sewage water, but no contractor took part and the experiment could not succeed.
Bhilwara has capacity to treat 60 MLD of water
| Capacity | Details |
|---|---|
| 30 MLD (million litres per day) | Sewage is being treated daily in Bhilwara city |
| 10 MLD | Plant operated by Jindal Saw |
| 10 MLD | Municipal corporation plant, currently under construction |
| 10 MLD | Another plant operated by Jindal Saw. The company is using 5 to 7 MLD of treated water for industry |
Current status: after treatment at the STPs, sewage water is being released into the Kothari River.