Amazon announces 400 million litre water replenishment project in Delhi’s Yamuna basin: What this means

Amazon on Thursday (June 5) announced its water replenishment project in the Yamuna River watershed, upstream from New Delhi. The project aims to restore over 400 million litres of water annually. The project was announced during the Amazon Water Dialogues 2025 held at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.

The project is a part of Amazon’s initiatives to tackle water scarcity and over-extraction of groundwater. The event hosted key stakeholders in the water industry, such as Sheeba Sen, co-founder, Hasten Regeneration, Ramveer Tanwar, Pond Man and Manoj Singh, Associate Director - Climate, Agriculture & Food Systems, The Natural Conservancy, and Swetha Ramdas, Amazon Sustainability leader, among others, who came together to deliberate on challenges and initiatives regarding water as a scarce resource.

“The ground-breaking initiative will rehabilitate existing infrastructure and build new water-saving structures in the Yamuna River watershed,” Amazon in a statement said.

How it will work?

Amazon will implement the project in collaboration with Hasten Regeneration, Arpan Sen Sansthan and Clear water Dynamics. Arpan Seva Sansthan was the winner of India’s ‘National Water Award’ in 2023 and Clear Water Dynamics is a Bangalore-based consultancy firm specialising in water engineering infrastructure projects.

“This collaborative action is exactly what New Delhi needs to help address its water crisis. By blending traditional wisdom with scientific rigour, we're building both water systems and community resilience,” Sheeba Sen said.

Sasmit Patra, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, says, “The inaugural Water Dialogues 2025 in Delhi marks an important step in advancing collaboration around India’s pressing water challenges. Amazon’s funding of its first water replenishment project in the Yamuna River watershed, expected to return more than 400 million litres of water annually is a commendable contribution.”

Amazon in a statement said that the project will feature a groundwater recharge programme. It combines the rehabilitation of existing water infrastructure, including check dams and ponds, besides working towards the construction of new water-saving structures such as percolation pits and recharge shafts. Additionally, planting vegetation around these structures can help to prevent erosion, increase the moisture in soil, and improve local landscapes. Rehabilitation sites will be selected within the Yamuna River watershed.

In 2024, Amazon announced a goal to return more water to communities in India than it uses in its direct operations by 2027. The new goal builds on Amazon’s work over the last several years to improve water efficiency at its sites in India, and on investments in projects that return water to critically water-stressed communities.