Water is now a regulated, priced and reputational resource for Indian industry. CGWA guidelines require larger groundwater users to conduct annual water audits and reduce consumption, SPCBs push zero liquid discharge and reuse, and BRSR demands water-footprint disclosure. Our water audit maps your complete water balance from intake to discharge, identifies losses and reuse opportunities, and delivers a conservation plan that satisfies regulators and lowers cost.
Legal basis: CGWA Guidelines to regulate and control ground water extraction, 2020 (annual water audit and consumption-reduction obligations for larger abstractors, through auditors certified by bodies such as CII, FICCI or NPC); Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 consent conditions; CPCB / SPCB directions on zero liquid discharge and water reuse for notified sectors; SEBI BRSR Core water-footprint KPIs
Who needs it
- Industries abstracting groundwater above the thresholds in the CGWA 2020 guidelines, which must undertake annual water audits and cut use by the stipulated percentage
- Textile, dyeing, pharma, chemical, pulp and paper, distillery and tannery units under ZLD or stringent discharge norms
- Food and beverage, dairy and packaged drinking water plants with high water intensity
- Listed companies reporting water withdrawal, consumption, intensity and discharge in BRSR Core
- Hotels, hospitals, campuses and real-estate projects with STP reuse mandates from local bodies
- Plants in water-stressed districts facing supply curtailment or community pressure
Common in:Manufacturing & Industrial UnitsPharma & ChemicalsHospitals & HealthcareReal Estate & Infrastructure
Documents required
- 1Water source details: borewells, municipal / industrial-estate supply, surface water and tankers with quantities and costs
- 2Existing flow meter locations, readings and calibration records
- 3Process flow diagrams and water-using equipment list (cooling towers, boilers, washing, process, domestic, gardening)
- 4ETP / STP design capacity, inlet and outlet quantities and treated water reuse records
- 5Effluent discharge quantities and quality reports as per consent
- 6CGWA / State groundwater NOC with conditions and previous water audit reports
- 7Production data for water intensity benchmarking
- 8Rainwater harvesting and recharge structures with design capacity
- 9Utility bills and chemical consumption for water treatment
Missing something? We help you obtain or regularise supporting documents before filing.
How we get it done
- 1
Pre-audit data review
Week 1We study the water sources, consent conditions, NOC obligations and existing metering, and design the measurement plan including temporary ultrasonic flow metering where meters are missing.
- 2
Field measurement
Week 1–2Flows are measured at intake, each major user, recycling loops and discharge; cooling tower cycles, boiler blowdown and losses are quantified over representative shifts.
- 3
Water balance and benchmarking
Week 2–3A closed water balance is prepared, unaccounted-for water is identified and specific water consumption is benchmarked against sector norms and CPCB / CII references.
- 4
Conservation plan and report
Week 3–4Measures are ranked by savings, cost and payback — leak repair, cooling tower optimisation, process reuse, treated-water recycling, rainwater harvesting — and compiled into the audit report in the format required by CGWA and management.
If you don’t comply
Failure to conduct and submit the mandatory water audit, or to achieve the consumption reduction required under the CGWA 2020 guidelines, is a breach of NOC conditions that can lead to non-renewal, environmental compensation and prosecution under Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. SPCBs can also impose closure directions for exceeding consented water intake or discharge. Beyond penalties, unmeasured water is unmanaged cost and a growing supply risk in stressed districts.
Why MYDA Group
Specialists, not generalists
Environmental compliance is our only practice, so your file is handled by people who do this every day.
Fixed fee, written scope
You know the professional fee and the statutory fees before we start. No surprise add-ons.
Inspection and audit-ready
We prepare your site and team for the board visit or certification audit and attend it with you.
Lifetime reminders
Every condition, return and renewal goes into your compliance calendar with alerts.
Frequently asked questions
Who is required to conduct a water audit under the CGWA guidelines?
The 2020 guidelines require industries, infrastructure and mining projects abstracting groundwater above specified daily quantities (which vary with the stress category of the assessment unit) to conduct annual water audits through auditors certified by recognised bodies such as CII, FICCI or NPC, submit the reports and reduce groundwater use by the stipulated percentage within a set period. We confirm the exact thresholds and obligations applicable to your NOC.
What is a water balance and why does it matter?
A water balance accounts for every cubic metre entering the site and where it goes — product, evaporation, effluent, reuse and losses. A good audit closes the balance to within about 5 to 10 percent; the unaccounted gap usually reveals leaks, overflowing tanks and unmetered uses that are the cheapest savings available.
What is Zero Liquid Discharge and does it apply to us?
ZLD means no liquid effluent leaves the site — all wastewater is treated and reused, with residual salts recovered as solids. CPCB and several SPCBs have mandated ZLD for sectors such as textile dyeing, distilleries, tanneries and certain chemical and pharma clusters, and for units in specific river basins. A water audit is the first step, because reducing intake and segregating streams cuts the size and cost of ZLD systems dramatically.
Does the audit also cover water quality?
Our standard audit focuses on quantity and reuse, but we review effluent and treated-water quality data to assess reuse feasibility and consent compliance, and we can add sampling for specific parameters where required for reuse applications or ZLD design.