Water stress is inevitable. What can the steel and coal sectors do to avoid the coming crisis?

A report published on June 25 by rating agency Moody’s highlighted that among the industrial sectors in India, coal-fired power plants and steel producers are most vulnerable to water shortages.

“Coal-fired power producers and steelmakers are highly dependent on water for production. Growing water shortages could disrupt their operations and hinder revenue generation, weakening their credit strength,” it said.

Nitin Bassi, senior programme manager for sustainable water at the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), a Delhi-based think tank, said his team’s analysis shows that by 2025, 11 of India’s 15 major river basins will be water stressed — with annual water availability per person being less than 1,700 cubic metres.

He said five of them — Ganga, Subarnarekha, Krishna, Mahi and Tapi — are already facing water stress, with annual per capita availability of less than 1,000 cubic metres per person. Three others — Cauvery, Pennar and Sabarmati — face absolute water stress, with annual per capita availability of less than 500 cubic metres per person.

“Among the steel and thermal power plants, the latter require a lot of water, mainly for thermal cooling and processing of coal ash. Given that most of the thermal power plants are located in eastern India and along the eastern coast in water-stressed basins, they may face problems in the long run if dependence on freshwater remains,” Bassi said.

Read also: India’s worsening water crisis could weigh on country’s credit health, says Moody’s Ratings

A disturbing number

Government data shows that water availability per person has fallen from about 5,000 cubic metres in 1950 to about 1,500 cubic metres in 2020.

If it falls to around 1,000-1,100 cubic metres, as some international climate change forecasters predict, India will be considered a water-stressed country.

A 2023 vulnerability assessment by the Central Electricity Board under the Ministry of Power found that India’s major power grids are dependent on 14 major river basins, all of which are facing “high water stress”.

Another 2021 study by Delhi-based NGO Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that coal-fired power plants accounted for about 70 percent of the country’s industrial water withdrawals. It also found that 48 percent of existing coal-fired power plants were located in water-stressed regions.

The steel industry faces an equally bleak future.

Industry data shows that the average water consumption in integrated steel mills is approximately 28.6 cubic meters per metric ton of steel. The average water consumption in electric arc furnace (EAF) plants is 28.1 cubic meters per metric ton.

However, much of this water is discharged after being cooled and cleaned.

Leading Indian steel companies have also identified water scarcity as a potential business risk.

Companies like Tata and JSW Steel have decided to build new water tanks at their plants and invest in water treatment plants and rainwater harvesting systems to supply water to their plants, according to their annual reports and official websites.

Tata Steel has set itself targets to achieve freshwater consumption of 2 m3/tc across all its steel manufacturing plants by 2025.

By 2030, it is assumed that freshwater consumption will be less than 1.5 m3/tc in all steel production plants, which will allow water neutrality to be achieved.

However, experts warn that such small steps are not enough, especially in the face of alarming rate of deterioration of water levels.

Implementing sustainable practices

The steel and coal industries rely heavily on water for cooling and processing. It provides cooling for high-temperature processes and provides essential functions in gas cleaning and treatment processes.

Åsa Ekdahl, director of environment and climate change at the World Steel Association, said the industry needs to pay more attention to the effects of climate change and the limited availability of and access to freshwater resources.

She added that many industries around the world are now switching to reusing water to reduce its wastage.

Adding: “Although the steel industry uses large amounts of water, especially for cooling, very little of it is actually used, with about 90 percent being released back to the source. In addition, the water released is often cleaner than that extracted, thanks to advanced water purification practices.”

However, experts pointed out that while reusing and recirculating water in the steelmaking process can make a difference, more holistic practices such as zero liquid discharge or reusing municipal wastewater to minimize freshwater consumption can also be experimented with.

A senior official from the Coal Ministry said India has already achieved promising results with its efforts to “utilise mine water” — treatment of water collected in mine wells for irrigation and drinking purposes.

In government mines, six parameters are monitored every two weeks to ensure basic water quality standard. These are pH, total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), oil and grease. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) parameters are also monitored annually.

“The quality of mine water supplied for domestic purposes is also checked regularly,” the official said.

Data released by the Coal Ministry in March this year showed that in the last five years, the quantity of mine water supplied for social purposes was around 18,513 LKL (one lakh kilo litres). This mine water is estimated to have reached around 37.63 lakh people in 1,055 villages of coal states.

During this period, the amount of mine water supplied for irrigation purposes was approximately 7,010 LKL, and for economic and drinking purposes approximately 11,503 LKL.

Bassi said desalination — the process of removing salt from seawater — could also be explored and scaled up for plants along the coastline. “For inland plants, efforts should be made to scale up cooling tower technologies that can reduce their dependence on water or explore the adoption of dry cooling technologies that use a negligible amount of water.”

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)

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