The two‑hour discussion, titled “Reimagining Water Management for a Circular Future,” was moderated by K. Lakshmi, deputy editor of The Hindu, and brought together corporate heads and academic experts to argue that wastewater should be regarded as a valuable economic resource rather than a disposal problem.

P. Kannan, director of operations at Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL), traced the company’s water‑saving journey back to the acute water shortage that hit Chennai in 1980. He said CPCL has since optimised its water demand, diverted treated water to processing units and, where possible, maximised reuse. The firm now generates about 480 tonnes of steam from recycled water, a concrete illustration of its shift from reliance on Metro Water to a reduce‑reuse‑recycle model.

Mukesh Mohan, executive director of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), said the oil major recycles roughly 90‑91 % of its wastewater across nine refineries. He outlined concrete plans to replace fresh water with treated effluent from municipal sewage‑treatment plants at refineries in Vadodara, Guwahati, Mathura and Panipat, stressing that municipal cooperation and purpose‑built STPs are essential for the transition.

Rajiv Mittal, chairman and managing director of VA TECH WABAG, warned against the myth that desalination is the only answer to water scarcity. He argued that Chennai’s long coastline makes seawater a viable alternative and that labeling wastewater as an economic resource will change public attitudes, encouraging collection, treatment and value‑creation rather than unchecked discharge.

Rajesh Nair, a professor of ocean engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, highlighted the need for robust groundwater monitoring and data‑driven management. He described India’s first project to extract geothermal energy from depleted oil and gas wells and called for integrated IoT and AI platforms to track groundwater quality, recharge rates and wetland health.

Collectively, the speakers painted a picture of a water‑conscious industrial sector that is beginning to embed circular principles into core operations. If municipal infrastructure keeps pace, the outlined initiatives could significantly lower fresh‑water withdrawals, generate ancillary energy and set a template for other water‑stressed regions in India.