The water sector in India is undergoing a fundamental transformation with possibilities such as direct access to drinking water from taps being explored by some cities, although the water availability statistics remain alarming. Approximately 97 per cent of the world’s water resources consist of non-usable water, leaving only 3 per cent available for utilisation. Of the 3 per cent, India has a meagre share of 4 per cent of water and approximately 30 per cent of this undergoes treatment for potable and non-potable use. Rapidly increasing urbanisation and industrialisation, coupled with declining freshwater sources, are fuelling the high water stress in India. Presently, 54 per cent of India faces high to extremely high water stress. The per capita water availability is decreasing, necessitating a digital intervention to improve the efficiency of water treatment and water supply management. Digital transformation of the sector requires the implementation of crucial measures, such as equipping companies with the latest technologies, establishing a sustainable operational framework and training the workforce with digital know-how.
The three Ds
The penetration of digital interventions in the water sector is taking place through a three-step process known as the “three Ds”, namely, digitisation, digitalisation and digital transformation. The level of opportunities to explore these steps appears promising, given the burgeoning digital literacy in India. The first stage to unlock the potential of this three-pronged process is digitisation. It is the technical process of converting analog information at the water treatment or supply facilities into digital form, involving the scanning of images, sampling of sounds, automating a simple workflow and enabling communications through emails. Digitalisation is an organisational or business-oriented process that requires implementing technologies such as enterprise resource planning, internet of things (IoT) and industrial internet. It also enables ePayments, paperless offices and eGovernment services while integrating blockchain, smart contracts and e-learning platforms. Lastly, the digital transformation stage involves a fundamental rethinking of customer experience, business models and operations, which demands the transformation of consumption patterns, socio-economic structures, legal and policy measures, and cultural barriers among the user base. It also means introducing new ways to deliver value, generate revenue and improve efficiency at the service provider’s end.
Initiation of Industry 5.0
The integration and complete automation of these three stages pave the way for Industry 5.0. It is a process that challenges companies in the sector to accelerate their corporate social responsibility initiatives by leveraging the latest technology and data analytics. The key enablers of this approach are big data, cloud computing, data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT.
Industry 5.0 encompasses the complete availability of data regarding water network management from the water source till it reaches the customer, at various locations, through sensors. This enables the collection of data on possible leakages, water pressure, temperature and contamination levels on a single platform while maintaining transparency. An asset performance monitoring platform would further help in preparing a dashboard from the collected data, undertaking analysis, generating result reports and taking measurable actions. The next step is predictive maintenance, which involves consistent monitoring through advanced analytics. An example of such a platform is the APM Insight by Veolia Water Technology and Solutions. It has over 50,000 water assets connected with data collected from various components such as boilers, cooler systems, reverse osmosis (RO) systems and ultrafiltration (UF) systems. It enables remote monitoring, attains simplified and standardised data entry and reporting, and processes visibility and transparency into key performance indicators. Similarly, ZeFIR by Veolia is another automation application that has been deployed in the water sector. It detects rapid fouling events for UF membrane bioreactors (MBRs) based on a decline in permeability trends.
The visualisation achieved through this process facilitates faster decision-making, which is further enhanced by the application of AI and machine learning (ML). While collecting data is a significant challenge in water treatment and management, acquiring the right data at the right time stands out as another prominent obstacle. These challenges can be bridged by the use of AI/ML. iVAP by Veolia is one such technology that captures the realistic degradation of the heat transfer rate caused by fouling inside the evaporator tubes, by using the performance rating parameters of the water treatment plant.
Integrating environmental resilience
It has become imperative to ensure transparency, resiliency and a net-positive (TRN) footprint of the water treatment and supply chain. Consequently, achieving sustainability in digital systems holds equal importance. This structured approach involves examining water accounting, water balance, benchmarking and disclosures. Additionally, it includes the optimisation of operations and minimising the enterprise’s footprint.
Some sustainable solutions that have the potential for automation and digitalisation are wastewater recycling, zero liquid discharge and decentralised treatment. Recently, a decentralised sewage recycling plant in Mumbai has integrated the ZeeWeed MBR technology, which has a treatment capacity of 20 million litres per day (mld). Similarly, another sewage recycling plant in Mumbai, with a capacity of 22.5 mld, utilises both ZeeWeed MBR and RO technology to fulfil approximately 90 per cent of the total water needs for approximately 30,000 families. This plant has also been able to reduce the carbon footprint to about 40 per cent. The water treated in this plant has reported less than 30 chemical oxygen demands, less than five biological oxygen demands, and less than 5 parts per million of total suspended solids. The implementation of the TRN approach in these plants aids residential communities in reusing wastewater and reducing freshwater intake.
Underlying challenges and future needs
Only a small fraction – approximately 3 to 4 per cent – of automation has been implemented in India’s water sector. Gathering data through automation, digitalisation, digital twins and visual dashboards is still at the nascent stage. The workforce in the supply and treatment chain cycle remains reluctant to make the transition to digital platforms. Creating domain knowledge in the sector has become essential to facilitate digitalisation. Developing a well-trained manual task force capable of effectively managing digital systems will be imperative in enhancing productivity beyond the current level. Apprehensions regarding job loss are usually regarded as a deterrent to the integration of technology. However, technological advancements and automation would make manual tasks simpler and more efficient for the water sector. Upskilling the workforce is necessary to facilitate the adoption of emerging technologies. Industry 5.0 can be effectively executed with the implementation of smart operations by a trained workforce.
Moreover, policies and regulations for sustainability in the sector remain inadequate. While a push from the government is necessary in this direction, the enforcement of mandates regarding digitalised operations would also enable private players to achieve valuable returns on investments. Since digital transition in the water sector would be gradual, the use of technology is anticipated to be profitable in the long term. n
Based on a presentation by Nishita Parte, Digital CoE Leader India, Veolia Water Technology and Solutions, at a recent Indian Infrastructure conference