Tata Steel has taken various actions for optimum use of water. The increased emphasis on water re-circulation in all process units has contributed to considerable reduction in water consumption. Specific water consumption (including that of power generation) has reduced by more than 60% over the last decade. Close monitoring of water losses, recycling of processed waste water and treated sewage water for steel making and treated effluent recovery from works drain have resulted in use of much less water for every tonne of steel produced.

Processed Wastewater

 

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Tata Steel India

The Company does not use any ground water source for industrial or domestic use. The entire domestic consumption of the city of Jamshedpur is ~65 million metric cube/annum of water and is supplied and managed by the hundred percent subsidiary Company JUSCO (Jamshedpur Utility Services Company). The potable water supplied by JUSCO to the city meets all national and international standards.

The total water withdrawal during the period was 36.67 million metric cube for Jamshedpur Steel Works, which also includes water used for expansion activities. Water re-circulation and conservation efforts are in place at process units and the new processes that will come online in the coming years are likely to reduce specific water consumption.

Water Consumption in Steel Works including Power Generation

  

Water for industrial and domestic usage at Jamshedpur is drawn from river Subarnarekha. This river is perennial in nature and water abstraction does not have any adverse impact on the eco system. The other source of water at Jamshedpur is a 92.6 square kilometer captive reservoir at Dimna with a capacity of 34.224 million metric cube.

Gross make-up water requirement for the Steel Works was an average of 105200 m cube/ day during 2008-09.

 

Flora and fauna inside the Works

With structured management approach, awareness and technological intervention, Tata Steel has been able to provide better water resources not only for industrial and human use but also for different species of flora and fauna inside its Works. There are two cooling ponds in the steel plants - the lower cooling ponds, with capacity of 4,500,000 m3 and the upper cooling ponds with a capacity of 900,000 m3. These provide shelter to various species of migratory birds and rare flowers. Many kinds of butterflies too have found an ideal nesting habitat around these areas.
Tata Steel Europe

To reduce overall water consumption at TSE operations, a wide range of techniques, such as re-circulation of cooling systems and effluents has been adopted. TSE Tubes' operations at Hartlepool use large volumes of water in contact cooling systems. These generate oil-contaminated water that requires treatment and disposal. Through collaboration with technical experts at Hartlepool Water, Corus Tubes invested in a new state-of-the-art water treatment plant in the last financial year. This investment has allowed a significant proportion of the cooling water to be treated and re-circulated, thereby restricting usage of valuable local water resources.

NatSteel Holdings

Water is mainly used in the cooling towers of production systems (e.g. EAF, Continuous Casting Machine, the rolling stands of MBM) and production processes (e.g. cooling of billets in the casting process). NSH has switched from using potable water to NEWater in January 2008. NEWater is wastewater (sewage), which is purified using dual-membrane and ultraviolet technologies. This is in support of the Singapore government's move to reduce the use of potable water for industrial purposes.

A few initiatives taken are:

  • Use of closed-loop cooling water recycling.
  • Use of NEWater in processes to reduce production cost and save potable water.
  • Use of thimble and flow regulator to reduce water flow in taps.