Arresting India’s Water Crisis: The Economic Case for Wastewater Use

This year’s World Water Day, being marked on 22 March, is a sombre occasion. After all, 600 million people in India currently face acute water shortages, and almost 200,000 lose their lives from lack of access to safe water. [1] More than 12 percent of the country’s population (or approximately 163 million) are already living the “Day Zero” scenario, [a] with no access to clean water within or near their homes. [2] The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the water crisis by increasing the demand for domestic water by 20-25 percent, as hygiene awareness has grown and households are practicing handwashing more regularly. [3]