Water for All: Sustainable Solutions for Reducing and Utilizing Sarvajal's Reverse Osmosis Brine in Northwestern India

An interdisciplinary team of six students from the University of Michigan’s School of NaturalResources & Environment (SNRE) spent twelve months working with the India based, socialenterprise, Sarvajal, to help address a water resource challenge facing their organization. Sarvajalworks to provide clean and affordable drinking water to rural communities in India by employingthe technology of Reverse Osmosis (RO) on a local scale. This process is considered one of thebest water purification technologies currently available; however, as a by-product of this process,brine is produced that contains concentrated dissolved contaminants. Finding affordable methodsto treat or use this brine is difficult. The team of students worked with Sarvajal to try and helpaddress the challenges created by this RO brine. The contents of this report outline the work ofthe students and their recommendations for Sarvajal.The team conducted extensive research on possible applications for the RO brine, but as theproject progressed, the team noticed operational inefficiencies and data gaps that presentedbarriers to successfully implementing specific applications. As a result, the team developedoverarching recommendations, in addition to providing research on specific applications.Applications were researched that had the potential to address environmental, social, andeconomic impacts of brine management. The team’s recommendations were designed tofacilitate the eventual implementation of some of the brine applications and to identify promisingapplications that warrant further consideration from Sarvajal. These recommendations include:expanding data collection and including additional parameters in brine testing, regionalizingefficiency standards for increased production, improving communications about RO brine useamongst Sarvajal and its franchisees, and investing in further research for select promisingapplications.