Water Dialogue Series II: Driving Collective Action for Water Security

Frank Water in partnership with the CII Triveni Water Institute organised the second Water Dialogue series in Mumbai on 4 February 2025. The theme, ‘Corporate Engagement on Water-Climate-Livelihood Nexus,’ continued to build on the last event in Chennai. 

The agenda featured a case study presentation on water interventions through collective action in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra alongside a keynote address from Sanjay Chahande, Chairperson of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA). Industry leaders and experts, including Mr. Ravichandran Purushothaman, Chairman, CII Mission on Water & President Danfoss Industries Pvt. Ltd, Dr Kapil Narula Executive Director & CEO, of CII Water Institute) and Katie Alcott, CEO and Founder, of Frank Water, shared insights on the critical role of businesses in sustainable water management.

Mr. Purushothaman stressed the importance of the energy-water nexus: “Fixing water first helps you fix energy faster, water transition is symbiotic with energy transition.” He advocated for data-driven processes and multi-sector and stakeholder collaboration and called for creating watershed alliances that integrate industry, agriculture, and communities.

Dr. Narula introduced the ‘Beyond the Boundary’ project, emphasising watershed-based management through collective action and shared lessons from CII-TWI’s work in Sriperumbudur and Aurangabad. Katie Alcott shared her perspective on global scalability and water collaboration: “Powerful lasting actions come through increased knowledge, our methods will be open-source and available to all stakeholders.”

Sanjay Chahande provided a regulatory perspective, highlighting: “Water is a common good, entitlement, tariff, and dispute resolution are pillars of sustainable management.” He then deliberated on MWRRA’s function in water allocation and ensuring equity in Maharashtra state’s water resources.

A dynamic panel discussion panel, moderated by Dr Himanshu Kulkarni, Co-Founder & Former Director of Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), and Avinash Mishra, Former Advisor, NITI Aayog & Senior Advisor, CII Water Institute delved into pressing water challenges, from groundwater contamination to leakages due to poor infrastructure and governance gaps.

Experts from Tata Power, Thermax Ltd, World Resources Institute India, and Ion Exchange (India) Ltd explored the evolving demands of industries and urban water management, emphasising the shift towards circular water use in Indian cities.

Participants, including Dr Rao, highlighted the increasing water demands of the renewable energy sector, particularly for cleaning solar panels. In arid regions where large solar farms operate, water consumption significantly increases.

Lubaina Rangwala and Nitin Umbralkar shared their organisation’s urban water context experiences, where water supply is currently a linear process of utilities provisioning it to the demand centres and it is necessary for Indian cities to regard water circularity central to their approach to water management. They pointed to Singapore’s NeuWater as a futuristic goalpost as water availability for growing urban demand reduces further.

Participants acknowledged that forums like these help make connections, understand the state of practice, and build new partnerships. The event concluded with a commitment to scaling the Water Dialogue Series, to continue drawing industry and other watershed stakeholders into an active dialogue that identifies, collaborates, and addresses critical water issues in their respective watersheds.

Watch the full session below.