The Visakhapatnam Development Council has proposed a long-term “Visakhapatnam Water Security Mission 2047” built around four water sources — reservoirs, Godavari supplies, recycled wastewater and desalination — modelled on Singapore’s integrated water-management system, according to a 13 September 2026 report published on 15 September by The Times of India.
Key takeaways
- The proposal, framed by Vizag Development Council president Dr O Naresh Kumar, mirrors Singapore’s four-source model: local catchment water, imported water, recycled NEWater and desalinated seawater, per The Times of India.
- Singapore runs five desalination plants against a current demand of about 440 million gallons a day, a figure the proposal flags as set to almost double by 2065, per The Times of India.
- Yeleru reservoir, the first-pillar surface source, holds about 24.1 TMC gross and 17.95 TMC live storage, per The Times of India.
- The Polavaram Left Main Canal, designed to carry about 23.44 TMC of Godavari water, is positioned as the long-term backbone of the city’s supply, per The Times of India.
- Five new balancing reservoirs of about 5 TMC each are proposed, potentially adding 25 TMC of new storage, per The Times of India.
What happened
Background and the Singapore template
The proposal opens with the Singapore benchmark: the city-state had only three reservoirs in 1965 and now has 17, with more than two-thirds of its land functioning as water catchment, according to The Times of India. Its current four-source supply mix — local catchment, imported water, recycled NEWater and desalinated seawater — is the template Dr Naresh Kumar wants adapted for Visakhapatnam, per the same The Times of India report.
The four pillars for Visakhapatnam
Pillar one maximises existing surface sources. Besides Yeleru, the proposal draws on Raiwada, Thatipudi, Meghadrigedda, Mudasarlova and Gambheeram Gedda reservoirs, according to The Times of India. Pillar two is the Polavaram Left Main Canal, sized to move about 23.44 TMC of Godavari water, described in the proposal as the backbone of long-term security, per the same The Times of India report.
Pillar three is Singapore-style recycling of treated wastewater for data centres, industries, power plants, construction and landscaping, with fresh water reserved mainly for drinking, according to The Times of India. Pillar four is a phased desalination programme, prioritised for industrial and strategic users, per the same The Times of India report.
Storage, grid and next steps
The mission also proposes examining five balancing reservoirs of about 5 TMC each, which could unlock roughly 25 TMC of additional storage through reservoirs, off-stream storage, tank rehabilitation and other systems, per The Times of India. A Vizag water grid would tie Polavaram supplies, reservoirs, treatment plants, industries and the city into a single network, with recycled wastewater and desalinated water fed in to create a circular management loop, according to the same The Times of India report. The proposal is framed as a 2047 horizon, with no award, contract value or tender date reported in the source.
Specification read
In buyer units, the headline scale is the Singapore reference demand of about 440 million gallons a day, which the source flags as on track to almost double by 2065, per The Times of India. Converting 440 MGD to metric gives roughly 1,665,000 m³/day; a near-doubling to about 2065 would imply a planning envelope of roughly 3,300,000 m³/day (general industry conversion of the reported figure, not a separate source number). The Visakhapatnam volume side is reported in TMC — Yeleru’s 17.95 TMC live storage, Polavaram’s 23.44 TMC design transfer and the proposed 25 TMC of new balancing storage together point to a raw-water envelope in the order of 19,000,000 m³ of live capacity (general industry conversion of the reported figures, not a separate source number). The class of project implied is a large mixed-use reuse network feeding data centres, industry, power and construction, with fresh water held back for potable supply, per The Times of India.
The treatment train that fits that brief runs screening → primary clarification → biological treatment (A2O, MBR, MBBR, SBR or UASB depending on influent strength) → tertiary filtration and disinfection (often UF/RO for reuse) → DAF or ZLD polishing where discharge or cooling-tower quality is binding, and that train is what the recycling pillar bears on. For sites weighing biological-stage options, our Mbr Membrane Systems page and the Municipal hub cover the configuration choices buyers usually run in enquiries. If your plant sits in the data-centre cooling or hyperscale reuse bracket — flows in the tens of thousands of m³/day, cooling-tower cycles of concentration driving high silica and conductivity, and a compliance line that demands near-ZLD blowdown — the third-pillar reuse logic in this proposal is the part to watch, and the Data Center Wastewater & Cooling Blowdown Treatment in Singapore (2026 Guide) piece sets out the buyer vocabulary for those enquiries. Operators scoping larger industrial reuse trains with limited footprint can also cross-check the Data Center Cooling Blowdown Treatment in Jeddah 2026: Process Specs, Cost & Compliance reference.
FAQ
What capacity is this Visakhapatnam plan sized for?
The source gives the Singapore benchmark of about 440 MGD (roughly 1,665,000 m³/day) and a near-doubling by 2065, and pairs that with Yeleru’s 17.95 TMC live storage, Polavaram’s 23.44 TMC design transfer and a proposed 25 TMC of new balancing storage, per The Times of India. The headline number for an operator is the combined ~66 TMC of raw-water envelope that the proposal assumes (general industry conversion of the reported figures).
Which treatment stages does the recycling pillar really need?
For Singapore-style reuse feeding data centres, industry, power and construction, the train is screening → primary → biological (MBR, MBBR, A2O or SBR) → tertiary UF/RO with disinfection, and DAF or ZLD where blowdown quality is binding. Lead time for a mid-sized MBR reuse package typically runs 9–14 months from PO to commissioning (general industry range, not from the sources).
Has a contract been awarded or a tender issued?
No. The source describes a proposal by the Vizag Development Council president framed to 2047, with no award, contract value or tender date reported, per The Times of India.
What should a supplier do now?
Track the Polavaram Left Main Canal schedule, the five proposed 5 TMC balancing reservoirs and the desalination phasing, because those three workstreams set the demand curve for MBR, UF/RO and DAF packages, per The Times of India. Pre-qualify on the data-centre reuse and cooling-blowdown classes first, since those are the most procurement-ready in the proposal (general industry view, not from the sources).
