Sustainable development and responsible resource use are becoming more and more important globally, ever since water availability has become a major concern in sustainability initiatives.
The creation, distribution, and consumption of products and services are having their respective water footprints depending on their specific water consumption. Water utilization risks and issues affect nearly every individual and enterprise globally. A 40 per cent scarcity of potable water might occur by 2030 if water application, conservation and management will not improve.
Water conservation has been given top priority by Indian companies in their sustainability initiatives. Given the significance of water resources in operational regions and the wide range of stakeholders they affect, sustainable interventions include both internal and external initiatives become the apt tool in current water crisis scenario.
Rainwater harvesting, water body rehabilitation and restoration, encouraging low-water- intensive operations and smart irrigation techniques (drip and sprinkler irrigation etc.,) to be encouraged by companies in and around their operations by local communities. These comprehensive solutions aim to reduce the water footprint of industry and promote water positivity.
NTPC has a dedicated Water Policy 2017, which serves as a directive to conserve water aggressively and address water sustainability challenges by establishing state of art water management practices. As the primary guideline for rainwater harvesting, NTPC also created the Rain Water Harvesting Policy 2018 to encourage the installation and routine maintenance of rainwater harvesting systems in and around NTPC facilities. An excellent illustration of how industrial operations can coexist peacefully with the environment to ensure water positively is the Lara super thermal power station near Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, which is a flagship station of NTPC Ltd. This article describes the NTPC Lara initiatives, demonstrating the commitment to achieve water positively and acting as a template for other industries.
NTPC Lara uses a variety of water-saving techniques to generate more electricity with less water in line with company’s water policy statement i.e., “Committed to become one of the most water efficient power company globally by generating more power per drop”. The probability of water crisis has decreased and water positivity has increased as a result of investments in water conservation techniques. Their creation of water bodies has raised the local water table and been replenishing groundwater supplies. Some of the water positivity initiatives by NTPC Lara include installing smart irrigation systems, reusing treated domestic effluent in township and plant wastewater, building rainwater harvesting structures, and changing behaviour to use water wisely.
An initiative has been made to make full use of the rainwater collection capacity of NTPC Lara Township (Maitri Nagar) in order to improve water sustainability. The township’s entire catchment area’s rainwater is discharged by a common storm water drain, also known as the main trunk drain. A modest, low-lying region in the Lara residential community is conserved, rehabilitated & renovated and transformed into a lovely water body having a total volume of approximately 90,000 cubic meters.
The station has two water reservoirs to store water for operational needs. This water is pumped from the Saradih water barrage, which is about 37.5 kilometres from the plant location, via two subsurface make-up water pipes that cross the township water body. Water from the water body is pumped to the makeup pipeline, which transports it to the water reservoir, via a connection made through makeup pipeline by pumps installed at the water body. To verify if the water is not flowing in the opposite direction, a non-return valve (NRV) has been installed at pipeline connection.
Before the monsoon season began in 2024, all the water available in water body was pumped to the reservoir. During rainy days, entire rainwater from the main trunk drain transporting storm water was diverted to referred water body and pumped to main reservoir by pumps equipped with level switches. Additionally, the township area now has 24 rainwater harvesting (RWH) pits (Figure 1 c), while the plant area has 17 RWH pits. In the most recent monsoon of 2024, 2.93 lakh cubic meters of water were collected and pumped collectively from the rainwater harvesting structures. Maitri Nagar used 2.26 lakh cubic meters of water annually in the previous fiscal year (2023-24). Lara Station has collected an additional quantity of 67000 cubic meters of more water than the annual consumption of water used for drinking and all other uses. NTPC Lara (Maitri Nagar) Township is currently a “Net Water Positive” township.
Beyond its plant and township boundaries, NTPC Lara has adopted a water conservation program in the surrounded villages. It has also undertaken efforts to deepen and develop embankments to revitalize and renovate 36 ponds in nearby villages. The biodiversity in surrounding of these water bodies is enhanced, which also increased the water bodies capacity and held over a million cubic meters of water in these ponds.
Specific water consumption (water consumption in cubic meters/MWh of power generation) has consistently been under limitations because of the water-positive activities. NTPC Lara’s water consumption for the fiscal year 2023–2024 (2.4 m 3 /MWh) is significantly lower than the MoEF&CC guidelines (3.0 m 3 /MWh).
Interventions to recycle and reuse wastewater within the system and limit freshwater withdrawal are urgently needed, as just 2.5 percent of the entire water supply is accessible as fresh water to human being. To effectively treat and reuse wastewater, NTPC Lara has installed cutting edge technology based Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP), Coal Slurry Settling Pond (CSSP), Ash Water Recirculation System (AWRS) and Sewage Treatment Plant (STP).
Lara station is treating entire effluents and reusing the same in the process to achieve “Zero Liquid Discharge” on sustainable basis. These recycling interventions can result in long-term cost savings for industries, even though they require an initial investment and ongoing operating costs. Additionally, by conserving water and resources, these initiatives help to achieve sustainability and overall cost efficiency over time.
Water conservation in industry can be accomplished by reducing total water use and increasing internal reuse through a combination of behaviour modification, equipment modification, and/or replacement with water-saving equipment. Developing a routine hose and pipe inspection program, stopping leaks, and using technological advancements to reduce water usage are some common operational adjustments for lowering water consumption at the operational level [3]. Regarding technological advancements, NTPC Lara uses two kinds of irrigation systems on its property to reduce water usage.
In NTPC Lara, Drip irrigation is widely utilized as part of the Miyawaki plantation and other locations. These systems reduce water loss to runoff and evaporation by sending water directly to plant roots through hole punches placed adjacent to the plants and low to the ground. NTPC Lara also saves money along with conservation of water.
Sprinkler Irrigation: Where there is an open space, NTPC Lara employs a sprinkler system to offer excellent coverage of area. For the plantations in and around NTPC Lara, water savings up to 20–30 per cent is possible when compared to the traditional irrigation scheme.
NTPC Lara has set a notable example in the industrial sector by achieving water positive township. With its comprehensive approach to water management, which includes rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment facilities, and cutting-edge technique-based irrigation methods, the company has shown that enterprises can achieve a balance between their operational needs and environmental care. NTPC Lara’s initiatives and efforts provide valuable insights into how companies can contribute to water conservation and create a sustainable paradigm for future generations. Since companies all over the world deal with water constraints, NTPC Lara’s strategy ensures a sustainable future for industry and society by offering a practical and scalable model that can inspire other enterprises to pursue similar water-positive activities.
