WATCO Achieves 100% Household Water Supply Coverage Across 29 Urban Areas in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) has achieved full household water supply coverage across all 29 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) under its jurisdiction, marking a major milestone in the state’s urban infrastructure and civic service delivery.

The achievement, along with WATCO’s future infrastructure expansion plans, was reviewed during a high-level meeting chaired by Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr. Krushna Chandra Mahapatra.

Officials informed that as of March 2026, WATCO’s water supply network is serving an estimated population of more than 49 lakh people through over 7.63 lakh household water connections across urban Odisha.

The corporation has also expanded the flagship “Drink from Tap” (DFT) initiative, which currently provides round-the-clock potable drinking water supply in 11 urban centres. Work is underway to extend the 24×7 water supply system to 17 more ULBs, while plans are also being prepared for implementation in Konark.

According to WATCO, the state’s present urban water supply capacity has reached 988.89 million litres per day (MLD), significantly higher than the existing demand of 700.67 MLD, ensuring long-term water security for urban areas.

During the 2025–26 financial year, WATCO achieved 100 per cent utilisation of its ₹912 crore budget allocated for water supply and sewerage infrastructure projects. In addition, the corporation spent over ₹500 crore under schemes such as AMRUT and OMBADC for strengthening urban water and sanitation systems.

Building on the progress, WATCO has prepared an expenditure plan of ₹920 crore for 2026–27, including ₹250 crore earmarked for sewerage infrastructure expansion.

Officials said the corporation commissioned three new Water Treatment Plants and completed construction of 58 Elevated Service Reservoirs during the previous financial year, significantly improving water distribution infrastructure.

Major infrastructure projects worth around ₹2,658 crore are currently under execution across the state. These include the near completion of the 130 MLD Water Treatment Plant for Bhubaneswar and expansion of sewerage networks in both slum and non-slum areas of the capital city.

As part of its technology-driven initiatives, WATCO has started installing 50,000 smart water meters in Bhubaneswar, Puri, Cuttack, Rourkela and Berhampur to improve billing efficiency, reduce non-revenue water losses and strengthen monitoring systems.

The corporation is also planning major future projects worth over ₹6,129 crore, including a ₹1,682 crore sewerage project for Sambalpur and an ₹830.97 crore sewerage system for Baripada.

To strengthen water quality monitoring, WATCO currently operates 14 third-party water testing laboratories under public-private partnership mode, while two additional laboratories are under development. The corporation has also signed an MoU with Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar for advanced water quality monitoring and technical support.

WATCO Managing Director Shri Debabrata Mohanty said the corporation is integrating advanced technologies, smart monitoring systems and large-scale infrastructure development to build a sustainable and future-ready urban water and sanitation ecosystem in Odisha.