Water Reclamation and Reuse

 As is the case with most of the major cities in the World, supply of fresh water is often inadequate to meet the water demand (approximately 270 lpcd) in major cities in India too. It is now clear that once - used water collected from community and municipalities should not be viewed as a waste to be disposed, instead it must be used as valuable resource that should and must be reused.

In cities like Florida (St. Petersburg) and California (Rancho Viego) a dual water system is already being used, wherein treated effluent from Sewage treatment plants is used for landscape watering and other non - potable uses. (Metcalf and Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse). A parallel example in our own country is Calcutta (Kolkata), where river water is being used directly for various purposes like gardening, washing etc. except for drinking, directly from  the river Hoogly.

Wastewater solids are organic products that can be used beneficially after stabilisation by processes like anaerobic digestion and composting.

Sulabh has been a pioneer in Research and Development and also the popularisation of the "Biogas from Human Excreta Technology". The Biogas thus produced can be used for the following purposes:

• Cooking

• Lighting street-lamps (Sulabh Deep)

• Electricity Generation

• Body warming during winters

• Biogas based generators

The solid residual left behind is an excellent organic manure for farm application.

At present Sulabh is involved in a research project whereby urine (as collected and stored separately from excreta, either in dry toilets or exclusively at urinals can be digested to from a biofertilizer for commercial production and application in fields.)