TIRUCHI: : The first community-based Decentralised Waste Water Treatment System (DEWATS) of Tamil Nadu, established by the Exnora International with technical support and funding from the Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA) of Germany will be commissioned at East Devadhanam in the city on Thursday.

The system, put up at a cost of Rs.7.40 lakhs, would treat and recycle wastewater and sullage discharges of a Corporation public convenience catering for about 160 families in the slum locality.

The DEWATS is a localised, low-cost and environment-friendly alternative to centralised waste water disposal systems which entail huge investments. The system would have the capacity to handle 9,000 litres of waste water per day and would involve natural sedimentation in a bio-gas digester (where the organic matter would be digested) and secondary treatment in an anaerobic baffled reactor. Tertiary treatment would take place in a planted gravel filter.

The biological oxygen demand and the phosphate levels of wastewater would be reduced by about 80 per cent. The treated water would be used for raising vegetables on the adjacent piece of land provided by the Corporation and the bio-gas generated out of the system would be used for lighting the toilet complex, T.Vijay Anand, Project Coordinator, told mediapersons here on Tuesday.

The public convenience is currently maintained by a women self-help group, mobilised by Gramalaya, a voluntary organisation, on a pay-and-use basis, with 50 paise being collected per head. The SHG members would continue to operate and maintain the DEWATS system.

Hitherto the SHGs are finding it difficult to maintain the toilet since the wastewater has to be released in open drain and canals. The sullage and solid wastes have to be removed mechanically, periodically at a high cost. The DEWATS would eliminate the problem.

More units planned

Stating that the system was an effective waste water management and disposal system which could be replicated in other parts of the State, Mr. Vijay Anand said the Exnora had planned to put up a couple of more such systems in Musiri and Manachanallur special panchayats in Tiruchi district, besides Chennai. The two DEWATS system in Tiruchi would be completed by December. A macro-level project was also planned in the tsunami-affected Nagapattinam district.

The Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board, the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, the Chennai Metro Water and the Madurai City Corporation have already expressed keen interest in putting up similar units, he said.

The vice-president and the secretary of the District Exnora, Kala Shanmugam, and C.Balasubramanian, said the system would be commissioned by the Commissioner of Municipal Administration, Ambuj Sharma. They also commended the cooperation extended by the Tiruchi Corporation and Gramalaya in establishing the system.

The system could be established in apartment complexes and already a real estate promoter had come forward to put up one in an upcoming project in the city, the District Exnora Advisor, V. Ganapathy, said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous | Engagements |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Updates: Breaking News |