India needs stronger policy support, financial incentives, and greater awareness to accelerate water reuse adoption, especially amid acute water stress and rising industrial demand, Anne Le Guennec, chief executive officer (CEO) of Water Tech Zone at Veolia, said in an interview.
The French water and waste management major has partnered with local authorities and companies in India on projects such as water desalination, municipal water supply, and wastewater treatment.
India, which has nearly 18% of the world’s population but only about 4% of its freshwater resources, faces a particularly acute challenge. A heavy dependence on groundwater and increasing pollution of surface water bodies have worsened the challenge. According to estimates by the NITI Aayog, nearly 600 million Indians face high to extreme water stress, while industrial water demand is expected to double by 2030. Despite this, only 30–35% of wastewater generated in urban India is currently treated, and an even smaller fraction is reused.
According to Le Guennec, encouraging industries to transition from freshwater dependence to treated wastewater could significantly ease pressure on freshwater resources. Data from the Central Pollution Control Board shows that India generates over 75,000 million litres per day (MLD) of wastewater, but treatment capacity remains insufficient, creating a large untapped opportunity for reuse. Globally, countries like Israel reuse nearly 85–90% of their wastewater, compared to India’s estimated reuse rate of less than 30%, underlining the scope for improvement.
She noted that water quality has improved over time, alongside significant enhancements in network infrastructure and connectivity. "However, the fundamental problem right now that India has as a country is, we have 18% of the world population, whereas only 4% of the world's fresh water available is there in India. So, we are a significantly disadvantaged country from that aspect and that's the reason our dependency on surface water as well as underground water is very high," she added.
She emphasized that India extracts groundwater at unsustainable rates, causing rapid depletion, and stressed that the most effective solution for the country now is to prioritize water reuse.
Wastewater currently enters drains and surface water bodies, causing pollution, but it can be effectively treated and reused. Similarly, surface water sources such as rivers and lakes are increasingly polluted due to industrial and municipal discharge.
Against this backdrop, Veolia sees water reuse and recycling as central to India’s water strategy. “We cannot create more freshwater at scale. We must optimise what we already have,” she said.
Veolia's water technology division—one of its largest globally with a business size of around €5 billion—has a strong foothold in India, spanning industrial water treatment, municipal wastewater management, desalination, and resource recovery. The company provides a wide range of technologies aimed at improving water quality, enabling reuse and recycling, and addressing complex industrial effluents.
The company is positioning the country as a key growth market for its water technologies business, even as water scarcity and urbanisation drive demand for advanced treatment and reuse solutions. One of its major recent wins is in Mumbai, where it has secured a large-scale municipal contract to treat nearly 3,000 million litres per day (MLD) of wastewater. The project is expected to serve more than 60% of the city’s population and significantly enhance wastewater treatment capacity.
Similar progress is being observed in Delhi and Chennai, indicating that major municipal bodies are moving toward water reuse solutions.
"However, faster implementation is needed. Governments are encouraged to promote adoption through policies, regulations, and incentives, helping industries transition more quickly to water reuse practices," she stressed.
The company has also set up a research and development and customer experience centre in Hoskote, near Bengaluru, which serves both domestic and global needs. The facility focuses on advanced research areas such as micropollutant removal, industrial corrosion control, and energy efficiency in water systems.
