Sewage treatment plants made mandatory
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The residents welcome the move but are concerned about the operation and maintenance cost, writes K.Lakshmi
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The trend: Apartments are coming up with sewage treatment plants now. A view of grey water treatment unit.
Sewage treatment plants (STP), which was once regarded as an add-on facility and adopted by a few building complexes in the city fringes, have now become mandatory in large scale constructions that lack sewerage network. The Second Master plan has made STP mandatory in residential developments of more than 50 houses or commercial area of 2,500 sq.m. in areas, which are yet to be covered by Chennai Metrowater or local body with sewerage network. Though the residents welcome the state government’s move, they also raise concern over the operation and maintenance cost of such plants.
Welcome move
Builders and promoters said that the directive would encourage recycling of waste water and reuse within the complex itself in a city that is witnessing a spiralling demand for water. However, they did not rule out the STPs’ disadvantages such as capital intensive and technological failures. Environmental consultants in the city said that residents need to choose products that require minimum space and of low maintenance cost in the long run.
C.Subba Reddy, managing director of Ceebros Property Development Private Limited, said sewage treatment plants would bring down the water usage by about 40 per cent in the complex. The recycled water can be used for flushing and gardening purposes. “We have installed such plants in all the properties developed by us in the past five years even in areas provided with sewage network as it has proved beneficial,” he said.
Several new companies have now entered the arena offering low cost maintenance technologies to treat sewage. The builders have a number of options to choose from according to their requirement. More companies have now begun to take up annual maintenance of the products, he said.
On the procedure to get sanction for the plant, Mr. Reddy said that the STP plan with details about its location and design would be furnished along with the building plan to the CMDA. It would be sent to Chennai Metrowater and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board for approval.
R.Viswanathan, manager of Ramaniyam Real Estate Private Limited, said treatment plants must be set up at every residential and commercial complex to provide a comfortable living space for the customers. “We are now providing the facility in the upcoming projects at Siruseri and Sholinganallur as it has dual benefits-environment friendly and reduction in water needs.”
Residents’ woes
Though promoters said they have not encountered problems in operation and maintenance, residents across the city, including those at Nolambur, complained that the frequent breakdowns of the STPs created health hazards.
Members of Gokulam-II Flat Owners’ Welfare Association, Nolambur, said though the treated effluent is recharged into the soil within the complex, there is no monitoring system to ensure that the recharged water is free from chemical impurities.
The frequent failure of the STP led to sewage overflow causing the risk of groundwater contamination. The residents stressed the need for connecting the drainage lines with the existing sewer network in the neighbourhood to mitigate the problems.
A senior Metrowater official said that the board scrutinised the technical aspects of the STP. It receives 10 to 12 applications every month and the number of applications is only bound to increase with the establishment of STPs made compulsory. There are also plans to lessen the period of approval as it is already being provided within a month. If there is no response from the board, it is understood that the plan is approved.
Though the board has taken measures to expand its sewerage network to 45 local bodies in the city fringes, including town panchayats, the establishment of STPs in such large scale constructions would be necessary as it would take three to four years for the network to be provided, the official said. He also outlined that measures to improve the sewage treatment facilities to accommodate the additional burden of the growing population in the city fringes particularly IT Corridor. Conceding that there was no such system to monitor the STP maintenance, the official said necessary steps would be taken for periodical check.
K.R.Siddharthan, project manager of LVK Enviro Consultants, a firm that specialises in waste water treatment products, said STPs are not a concept for the affluent anymore as several low cost maintenance facilities were available in the market. Cost of maintenance was rather high on those plants with conventional technology of activated sludge process.
The capital cost of STPs ranges from Rs.30,000 per kilo litre to 45,000 per kilo litre. The cost of STP would account for only one per cent of the total construction cost. The maintenance cost is between Rs.4 per kilo litre and Rs.12 per kilo litre and if this is shared among the residents, the burden would be felt less at an individual level.
Environmental consultant N.K.Kuttiappan said dual plumbing lines with one dedicated line to a separate over head tank for treated water must be ensured in the complex. Only very few of the STPs installed in the large building complexes are in working condition as several invest in the plant without knowledge about the products in the market. Awareness must to be created among the residents and the authorities concerned in the local bodies about the various STP technologies to avoid problems of failure, he said.
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