A silent, mini green revolution is sweeping across Kolar, Karna-taka, thanks to the state govern-ment’s lift irrigation project that pumps 440 million litres of recycled sewer water every day from Bengaluru to the Koramangala-challaghatta (Kc) Valley project, nearly 70 km away. The recycled water fills up close to 140 tanks, gradu-ally raises the ground water tables and facilitates farmers to use it for irrigation through bore-wells.
Over-exploitation and insufficient replenishment of groundwater have resulted in an urgent need to preserve fresh water and reuse treated waste water. and, now, the results are clearly visible. comparison through Google Earth maps shows that the once brown areas have turned green and blue in less than a decade. In 2019, the farmers had to dig up to 86 metres to draw water but, today, they get it in less than 15 metres, as a study by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, shows.
The ground water levels in the bore-holes increased by 58-73 per cent, its quality improving noticeably, trans-forming hard water into soft water, studies show. Land use and land cover studies also reveal a rise in the num-ber of water bodies, trees and cultivated land. The availability of ground water has increased the agricultural output (by 11-42 per cent), milk productivity (33 per cent) and fish productivity (341 per cent). “Thus, the Kc Valley project demonstrates a viable solution to the water dilemma in drought-prone areas by recharging groundwater levels using treated wastewater,” says manish Shetty, MD, Denta Water & Infra Solutions Lim-ited, which has partially executed the Kc Valley project.
In 2018, the department of minor irrigation and groundwater develop-ment, Karnataka, implemented large-scale recycling to fill 137 of these tanks with 440 mld of secondary treated water (STW) coming from two sewage treatment plants (STPs) of Bengaluru wastewater in Kolar. The results show that the surface water in the revitalised tanks fulfils the country’s strict STW water discharge regulations.
The recycling was aimed to improve the ground water quality by storing water in the existing tanks. more such projects have been launched by the Karnataka government, including Phase II of the Kc Valley (which Denta Water is handling on its own) and the Hebbal-Nagawara Valley Project (which seeks to reuse about 865 million litres of treated wastewater every day for groundwater replenishment.
Track record in water solutions Established in 2016, Denta Water has emerged as a seasoned player in the field of water engineering, procurement and construction (EPc) services. “With a track record in infrastructure project installations, includ-ing groundwater recharging through recycled water, Denta Water has been a key contributor to addressing the rising demand for water-related solutions in the country”, says Sujith TR., founder, Denta Water.
The company’s achievements over the years include pivotal projects like the Byrapura & Hiremagaluru Project and Karagada Project, primarily exe-cuted through lift irrigation systems. Notably, “We have played a substantial role in the first phase of the Kc Valley project, contributing to Bengaluru’s reputation as the second-largest city globally in terms of treated wastewater quantity,” affirms Sujith.
According to an IISc report, there are no such large-scale, full-fledged filed implementation studies available in India, wherein STW coming from major urban cities is used for rejuvenation of existing surface tanks and subsequently facilitating indirect groundwater recharging (GWR) in the semi-arid drought effective rural district. hence, this work quantifies GWR rates in the crystalline aquifers of peninsular India, characterised by hard rock aquifers with fractured weathered rocks. “Successful execution of the Kc Valley project has established that recharging groundwater levels with treated wastewater is a workable solution to the water problem in drought-prone areas”, Shetty explains.
Since incorporation, the company has completed 27 water management infrastructure projects for government of Karnataka, says G.V. Surendra Kumar, cFO, Denta Waters. “We have established our credentials as a water management solutions provider, particularly, in the field of ground water recharge projects and lift irrigation projects and our company has successfully completed projects involving the filling up of numerous tanks and check dams, showcasing our proficiency in managing water resources efficiently,” he says. With its technical expertise in GWR projects, Denta is now able to procure direct contracts as well as sub-contracts from the successful bidders. “as on 31 October 2023, we have, as consortium partner, procured direct contracts worth RS.541.86 crore, direct independent contracts worth Rs.32.17 crore and sub-contracts of R402.6 crore in GWR alone. The company has 22 ongoing projects constituting
An aggregate contract value of Rs.984.23 crore, out of which Rs.976.69 crore was related to water management projects and Rs.7.54 crore was related to infrastructure projects, including railways (improvement of infrastructure)and roadways (roads and bridges construction). It has a total contract value of Rs.984.23 crore, has completed work amounting to Rs.211.29 crore and has an outstanding order book of Rs.772.94 crore”.
For 2022-23, the company’s revenue from operations has increased by 45.79 per cent to Rs.174.32 crore, as against Rs.119.57 crore for 2021-22, primarily driven by an increase in revenue from ongoing projects as well as the completion of pending orders during the year. Profit after tax increased by 30.71 per cent to Rs.50.11 crore for 2022-23, as compared to Rs.38.34 crore for 2021-22. For the three months ended 30 June 2023, revenue from operations stood at R31.83 crore and profit after tax stood at Rs.8.12 crore.
“Denta is also ‘significantly involved’ in the centre’s Jal Jeevan mission,” says Sujith. The company has on hand contracts for lift irrigation projects in various regions, such as makali, makali hosahalli, Krishnapura and neighbouring villages in the channapatna taluk of ramanagar District, Karnataka. Under the Jal Jeevan mission, Denta Waters co was awarded two projects – Kerehalli and chikkabenakal Drinking Water Projects – in Karnataka. It has already covered 289.19 km of infrastructure for water management, pumping of secondary treated sewage water from adjoining cities of Bengaluru and mysuru, to replenish the dried lakes in adjoining districts such as Kolar, chikkaballpura and ramanagara and supplying of drinking water to peripheral habitations from reservoirs. The infrastructure for water management project includes designing of project, construction and installation of jack-wells including pump houses, laying of pipeline, electro-mechanic works, installation of pumps and installation of drinking water treatment plant.
The company is now going public having filed its Draft red herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the regulator SEBI. The IPO, with a face value of Rs.10, is entirely a fresh issue of up to 7.5 million equity shares with no offer for sale component. The price and the IPO timeline will be decided in consultation with the sole merchant banker SMC capitals. The proceeds from the fresh issue, to the extent of Rs.150 crore, will be used to meet working capital requirements.
Critical resource
As water remains a critical resource, Denta Water is poised to make substantial contributions to the industry’s growth and development in the future, as per marketysers Global report. India accounts for 2.45 per cent of land area and 4 per cent of water resources of the world but represents 16 per cent of the world population. With the present population growth-rate (1.9 per cent per year), the population is expected to cross the 1.5 billion mark by 2050. The Planning commission has estimated the water demand increase from 710 billion cubic metres (bcm) in 2010 to almost 1,180 BCM in 2050, with domestic and industrial water consumption expected to increase almost 2.5 times. The trend of urbanisation in India is exerting stress on civic authorities to provide basic requirement such as safe drinking water, sanitation and infrastructure. The rapid growth of population has exerted the potable water demand, which requires exploration of raw water sources, developing treatment and distribution systems.
Though water consumption per person is nearly 2 litres for survival, with a population of 1.4 billion, the country is facing an acute water crisis. as the country’s population grows, so does the need for water and its management. Water scarcity is expected to become a serious issue in the future. Furthermore, pollution’s impact on water supplies is a cause of worry. Denta’s Shetty sees a huge opportunity for his company in the water management industry that includes fresh water supply and waste water management.
Lancelot Joseph
lancelot.joseph@businessindiagroup.com