The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) will convene a stakeholder roundtable on decentralised treatment of wastewater and its bulk reuse, set against what the organisation describes as India's urban water crisis reaching a "lived reality" rather than a future threat, in a notice published on 14 October 2026 (cseindia.org).
Key takeaways
- CSE has called a roundtable on decentralised wastewater treatment and bulk reuse of treated water and recovered solids (cseindia.org).
- Targeted non-potable end uses include flushing, landscaping, cooling and industrial processes (cseindia.org).
- Sludge and other treatment-derived solids are flagged for recovery as compost, soil amendments, energy feedstock or nutrient sources (cseindia.org).
- Three discussion pillars are set: where India stands today, what enables or constrains adoption, and what must change (cseindia.org).
- Logistics contacts for the programme are Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Deputy Programme Manager, and Subrata Chakraborty, Programme Director of CSE's Water Programme (cseindia.org).
What happened: framing of the roundtable
In a programme announcement dated 14 October 2026, CSE's Water Programme said India's urban water crisis is no longer a looming threat but a "lived reality," and that conventional approaches such as drawing more from rivers, aquifers and inter-basin transfers are reaching ecological and economic limits while climate variability makes rainfall increasingly unreliable (cseindia.org). The notice refers to the NITI Aayog's Composite Water Management Index as the framing reference for that assessment (cseindia.org).
CSE positioned decentralised and modular treatment systems as a way to treat wastewater close to the point of generation and to enable fit-for-purpose reuse, listing flushing, landscaping, cooling, industrial processes and other non-potable applications as the targeted end uses (cseindia.org). The announcement adds treated sludge and other treatment-derived solids to the resource-recovery agenda, naming compost, soil amendments, energy feedstock and sources of nutrients and other resources as candidate outlets (cseindia.org).
What the roundtable aims to address
According to the 14 October 2026 notice, the roundtable will work through three broad questions: where India stands today on in-situ treatment, liquid reuse and solid or resource recovery; what enables or constrains adoption across standards, bylaws, policies and institutional arrangements; and what technological, regulatory, institutional and implementation changes are needed to move from individual projects and pilots towards safe, viable and scalable decentralised treatment and bulk reuse (cseindia.org).
Subrata Chakraborty, Programme Director of CSE's Water Programme, and Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Deputy Programme Manager, are listed as the contacts for further information on the roundtable, which the announcement says will seek a shared understanding of the current technology and regulatory landscape, identify key gaps and implementation challenges, and arrive at a prioritised set of actions (cseindia.org).
Specification read
The 14 October 2026 CSE notice does not report a project capacity, plant flow, BOD/COD loading, population equivalent or commissioning date for any specific decentralised facility, and the scale of the eventual reuse programme is therefore not stated in the source text (cseindia.org). Because no figure is supplied, the buyer-side sizing has to be built around the reuse end uses that CSE names — flushing, landscaping, cooling and industrial processes — and against the resource-recovery line on sludge, compost, soil amendments and energy feedstock (cseindia.org).
For a facility in this class, the typical treatment train runs screening, grit removal and primary clarification, followed by a biological stage such as Mbr Membrane Systems, MBBR, SBR or UASB, then tertiary treatment and disinfection to meet the non-potable reuse envelope that CSE has set out, with a parallel Sludge Treatment line for the solids-recovery pillar of the roundtable (cseindia.org). The recognition read for operators: if your plant sits in an Indian urban or industrial cluster and is being asked to deliver fit-for-purpose reuse for flushing, landscaping, cooling or industrial process water while recovering sludge as a soil amendment or energy feedstock, this roundtable is the signal that decentralised, modular treatment with a defined solids-recovery train is the direction CSE expects regulators and procurers to move.
FAQ
What is the event CSE has announced?
CSE's Water Programme has called a stakeholder roundtable on decentralised wastewater treatment and bulk reuse of treated water and recovered solids, with the call published on 14 October 2026 (cseindia.org). The event is positioned as a discussion forum rather than a project award.
Which reuse applications is CSE prioritising?
The notice lists flushing, landscaping, cooling, industrial processes and other non-potable uses as the targeted fit-for-purpose applications for treated wastewater (cseindia.org). Treated sludge and other treatment-derived solids are framed for recovery as compost, soil amendments, energy feedstock or sources of nutrients (cseindia.org).
What will the roundtable decide and is there a procurement outcome to watch?
The roundtable will develop a shared understanding of the technology and regulatory landscape, identify gaps and implementation challenges, and arrive at a prioritised set of actions to enable decentralised treatment and safe reuse (cseindia.org). No contract value, supplier shortlist or delivery timetable is reported in the source, so any procurement timing has to be confirmed directly with the programme.
Who do buyers contact for further information?
The 14 October 2026 notice lists Pradeep Kumar Mishra, Deputy Programme Manager, Water Programme at CSE, mobile 8085443793, email [email protected], and Subrata Chakraborty, Programme Director, Water Programme, email [email protected] (cseindia.org).
