The Future of India's Water Infrastructure
India stands at a defining moment on how it manages its water resources. Home to nearly 18% of the world's population but supported by just 4% of the world’s freshwater resources, the nation faces a growing imbalance that can no longer be ignored. With about 35% of India’s population living in urban areas, projected to reach 50% by 2030, the urban water crisis is intensifying, with demand expected to double available supply by 2030. Climate change is exacerbating the challenge: Central India has experienced a 6–7% decline in seasonal rainfall over the past century, along with more frequent droughts, floods, and heatwaves that are increasing water stress in major cities. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, and climate pressures are widening the demand - supply gap, making sustainable water management and climate adaptation urgent priorities.
This is no longer a challenge of scarcity alone, it is a test of stewardship and resilience. The time has come for decisive, collective action: to reimagine water infrastructure, accelerate investments in efficiency, hygiene and reuse, and embed sustainability into every level. The future of India’s water security will be shaped by the choices we make today. A robust water infrastructure is one that ensures water reaches every household, promotes efficient use across industries, climate adaptive infrastructures, adherence to water circular economy and minimizes losses throughout the life cycle. One of the strongest indicators of how competent such infrastructure is lies in identifying and addressing the gaps that exist within the system.
Reduce the Risk of Contamination during Collection, Storage
Rural tap water coverage in India has risen from 3.23 crore households in August 2019 to 15.84 crore households by May 2026, covering 81.87% of the country’s 19.35 crore rural households, according to a 2026 government update on Jal Jeevan Mission progress. This represents a tangible outcome of systems and institutional capacity that translate policy on water access into meaningful action on the ground. Importantly, the provision of household tap connections is not just about access, it is equally about ensuring the quality and safety of water. By enabling treated water to be delivered directly to homes, these systems significantly reduce the risk of contamination during collection, storage, and handling. Reliable access to clean water enables better sanitation practices, enhances the effectiveness of household and community systems, and strengthens overall public health outcomes. Together, improvements in water supply and sanitation form the backbone of resilient rural infrastructure, extending benefits beyond convenience to include dignity, hygiene, and long-term well-being. What makes these numbers particularly significant in the Indian context is that they signal a shift from a paradigm defined by scarcity to one anchored in structured, equitable, and safe water access. For a country with a limited share of global freshwater resources, ensuring that over 15 crore rural households have tap water connections is remarkable. It also reduces dependence on unreliable local sources, minimizing wastage and enhancing long-term water security.
As industrial activity in India continues to expand, accounting for nearly 20–25% of total freshwater withdrawals, wastewater treatment is evolving from an environmental obligation into a critical operational and economic requirement. However, with less than 30% of treated industrial wastewater currently reused, there remains substantial untapped potential. Efficient treatment and recycling systems can lower freshwater demand by 30–50% in water-intensive industries, significantly reducing water procurement costs while ensuring compliance with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. Although advanced systems involve high initial capital investment, technologies such as zero liquid discharge (ZLD) can achieve 90–95% water recovery, delivering long-term economic and resource efficiency benefits. Overall, the economic and environmental advantages of water reuse outweigh upfront costs, making it a strategic priority for sustainable industrial growth. Moreover, increased reuse of industrial effluent can substantially reduce pressure on municipal water supplies and natural freshwater sources, while minimizing pollution in rivers, lakes, and groundwater, thereby strengthening sustainable water infrastructure.
The India Water and Wastewater Treatment Market, valued at USD 3.98 billion in 2025, is projected to grow more than two-fold to USD 9.19 billion by 2032. This growth stands as the barometer of how industries and policymakers are beginning to recognize water recycling and reuse infrastructure as critical to perennial sustainability and industrial continuity. The sector’s market expansion can also be viewed as a resilient mechanism for both industrial progress and urban development, moving beyond water being perceived and managed merely as a utility requirement. Instead, wastewater treatment infrastructure is increasingly emerging as a strategic component of resource security and is now central to economic development.
When we talk about water infrastructure, the conversation cannot remain limited to whether water reaches a destination through pipes, it must also extend to what kind of systems carry it there, how coherently they function and whether they are built to withstand any environmental and urban pressures. Infrastructure quality is increasingly becoming as important as infrastructure access itself. In India, an estimated 40% to 60% of municipal water is lost as Non-Revenue Water (NRW) due to pipeline leakages, illegal connections, ageing infrastructure, and metering inefficiencies. This means that a sizable portion of water is extracted, treated, pumped, and transported using energy-intensive processes, only to disappear before reaching end users through skewed distribution systems. Global water losses are estimated at 126 billion cubic metres annually, equivalent to nearly $39 billion each year. Reducing these losses by even one-third could generate enough savings to supply water to 800 million people. However, managing non-revenue water (NRW) is complex and requires strategic interventions. Approaches such as segmenting distribution networks into smaller zones, deploying IoT-based monitoring systems to detect leaks, and installing pressure-regulating valves can significantly reduce water losses caused by pipeline failures and inefficiencies.
Sustainability today ultimately rests on a tightly interconnected chain, one that links water availability and water handling for better management of the resource in view of the bigger picture. As cities expand and industries grow, sustainability can no longer be viewed only through visible design interventions such as façade placement. Increasingly, the focus is moving on the underlying built systems that determine whether buildings and urban ecosystems can perform desirably over time.
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Rainwater harvesting & groundwater recharge systems: enhancing water sustainability
This transition is also visible in India’s real estate sector, where green buildings are gradually going from being only design assets to performance ones as well. The weightage is on how systematically buildings continue to operate year after year instead of just relying on sustainability commitments made at the construction stage. Operational performance frameworks, energy benchmarks and stable resource management systems are now becoming central to sustainable urban planning. Rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge systems play a key role in enhancing water sustainability in urban buildings. They reduce reliance on municipal supply, replenish groundwater, mitigate flooding, and strengthen long-term water security. Together, they support a localized, circular approach to urban water management. Water stewardship has emerged as one of the most critical aspects within this transition. With NITI Aayog projecting a potential 40% gap between water demand and supply by 2030, buildings and urban developments with inadequate water infrastructure rightly face operational disruption and regulatory pressure.
Visible above Ground to the Infrastructure embedded beneath
As the conversations continue to take centre stage, the attention will continue to move beyond what is visible above ground to the infrastructure embedded beneath it. The systems responsible for carrying, conserving and recycling the critical resources over decades of urban growth will be scrutinized. This is the reality of India’s future when it comes to water, its conservation cannot exist in isolation, nor can responsibility rest on a single stakeholder. As the country continues to grow in terms of population, urbanisation and industrialisation, the pressure on water systems will only intensify. The narrative and subsequent plan of action must therefore be recast to systematically manage the entire lifecycle of the resource as opposed to the cliched “save water” dialogue.
This begins with identifying and protecting water sources, supported by well-devised policies, regulatory framework and reliable infrastructure planning. However, theory alone cannot create resilience unless it is supported by the industries and ecosystem players responsible for building and maintaining the systems that transport, distribute, recycle and conserve water. The role of infrastructure providers is becoming especially critical here. Water transportation systems, pipeline networks, wastewater treatment mechanisms, and leakage-proof infrastructure collectively determine the success of the conservation efforts. As cities expand and sustainability becomes more central to building design, these systems must work in sync with the development. At the same time, industries must also recognize that while water consumption may remain unavoidable for manufacturing and industrial growth, irresponsible usage can no longer be considered acceptable. Industrial progress and water stewardship must move together, with undeniable commitment towards wastewater treatment, reuse systems and responsible discharge practices.
Ultimately, sustainable water management in India will depend on two equally important pillars, one being well-assembled networks that minimize loss and optimize distribution, and second, responsible consumption practices across industries, urban and communities. Only when these elements function together congruently can a seemingly undefeatable resilient water management model become achievable
About the Author:
Anil Tomar is a seasoned business leader with over 24 years of experience across manufacturing, procurement, and supply chain. He has led large-scale business transformations, operational excellence initiatives, and social impact programs at global and Indian multinationals including Danone, Kellogg, MARS, PepsiCo, and Honda.
Currently serving as Chief Operations Officer – India Region at Ashirvad by Aliaxis, Anil oversees the entire value chain and leads high-performing teams to drive growth, innovation, and sustainable transformation. A Mechanical Engineering graduate from Delhi College of Engineering, Anil is also a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
