Biotechnological Innovations for River Water Pollution Control and Sustainable Water Management: Indian and Global Perspectives

Rivers are the lifelines of human civilization, yet escalating pollution and unsustainable water use have pushed many river systems toward ecological collapse. In India, the challenge of restoring river health is compounded by rapid urbanization, industrial discharge, and inadequate wastewater treatment infrastructure. This review explores biotechnological innovations as transformative tools for sustainable river water management, emphasizing how biological processes can be engineered into efficient treatment systems. Key approaches discussed include engineered microbial consortia, bioaugmentation, biostimulation, immobilized microbial systems, phytoremediation, seawater reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system and advanced wastewater reuse strategies. These interventions convert naturally occurring biological mechanisms into controlled, scalable, and low-energy solutions for pollutant removal and resource recovery. The paper integrates insights from global models, particularly Singapore’s closed-loop water management framework, alongside Indian initiatives such as the Namami Gange Mission, highlighting progress, limitations, and future potential. The review underscores that sustainable river rejuvenation depends on aligning biotechnological innovation with engineering design, ecological restoration, and circular water management principles to ensure long-term water security. “Sustainable rivers are not restored by technology alone, but by the intelligent integration of biotechnology, engineering, and governance that transforms water from waste into a renewable resource.”