Hyderabad’s builders, developers and residential communities have been urged to use treated sewage water for construction, landscaping and other non-drinking purposes as the city prepares for possible water stress during the summer.
The appeal was made at a workshop on El-Nino contingency planning and water conservation organised by the builders’ associations Naredco Telangana and Credai Hyderabad. Officials, builders, developers and representatives of residential communities attended the meeting.
Hyderabad has 45 operational sewage treatment plants with a combined treatment capacity of 1,878 million litres per day (MLD), according to officials cited at the workshop. These plants generate around 1,500 MLD of treated water, but only about 7 MLD is currently being used.
HMWS&SB managing director K. Ashok Reddy asked builders to use treated sewage water for construction instead of relying on drinking water and groundwater. He said the board had introduced the Dial-a-Green-Tanker initiative to supply treated water for landscaping and other non-domestic requirements through an online booking facility.
Reddy also raised concerns about private sewage treatment plants that were either not operational or were not being used to their full capacity. Residential communities and large developments with surplus treated water should reuse it or make it available for other purposes, he said.
GHMC commissioner R.V. Karnan said the corporation would ensure that treated water was used for parks, road medians, plantations and other greenery. He also urged developers to reuse water from their own sewage treatment plants for construction projects.
The scale of construction demand was highlighted by Medchal-Malkajgiri corporation commissioner T. Vinay Krishna Reddy, who said buildings under construction required around 24 MLD of water daily, according to an assessment by the corporation. Moving this demand to treated water could reduce pressure on freshwater sources, officials said.
The workshop also linked water conservation to household consumption, rainwater harvesting and groundwater regulation. Cyberabad municipal commissioner G. Srijana called for long-term changes in water management, including wider rainwater harvesting and more responsible household use.
HYDRAA commissioner A.V. Ranganath stressed the need to prevent unauthorised groundwater extraction, particularly in areas around lakes. The officials’ statements placed responsibility on multiple stakeholders, including civic agencies, developers, private residential communities and households, to reduce dependence on freshwater supplies.
The HMWS&SB’s Dial-a-Green-Tanker service is intended to provide an operational channel for non-domestic users seeking treated water. Officials also called on private developments to operate their sewage treatment plants fully and reuse the treated output wherever possible.
