Maintenance of sewage treatment plants (STPs) is proving to be untenable for the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), which has now urged the Department of Minor Irrigation to pay maintenance charges for the STPs.
More than half of the treated sewage is utilised by the Department of Minor Irrigation to fill lakes and tanks in Chikkaballapur, Anekal and Kolar in neighbouring districts.
The water board has 35 STPs in the Vrushabhavathi, Hebbal and Koramangala-Challaghatta valleys that treat 1,050 MLD.
High maintenance cost
According to BWSSB’s chief engineer (waste water management) B.C. Gangadhar, operation and maintenance of the 35 STPs with an installed capacity 1,523.5 MLD comes up to nearly ₹10 crore every month, including power charges of ₹4.5 crore. “We have requested the department to pay maintenance, as most of the treated water is used by them,” he said.
Currently, only treated water from Hebbal and Koramangala-Challaghatta valleys are being used to fill tanks and lakes in Kolar district. While the first stage of the K.C. Valley project was implemented at ₹1,342 crore, the second phase will be taken up at ₹455 crore.
The government has recently approved using 308 MLD from Vrushabhavathi valley to fill 234 tanks and lakes in Bengaluru Urban and Rural, Tumakuru and Chikkaballabur districts. The proposal also featured in the State Budget and an allocation of ₹865 crore has been made for the same. Another 108 MLD to be used by Kaveri Neeravari Nigam Ltd. to fill tanks in Bidadi and Ramanagaram is being fleshed out, the official said and added that if all these projects are implemented, nearly 90% of the sewage generated and treated will be reused.
Utilisation of treated waste water
Of the 1,050 MLD of treated waste water, 550 MLD is used by minor irrigation for filling tanks, 15 MLD by KPCL, 10 MLD by Kempegowda International Airport, Wheel and Axle factory, ITC etc., 4 MLD by Cubbon Park, Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain, race course, Raj Bhavan, Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha, and 1.5 MLD by Lalbagh. Most of the treated water in the Vrushabhavathi valley is currently let into the drain again.
A small quantum is also sold through tankers to those who place a requisition with the BWSSB, Mr. Gangadhar said. In December, the BWSSB sold 131 tanker loads of treated waste water. The number increased to 274 in January. Each tanker load (6,000 litre) is sold at just ₹360.
“Within a 5-km radius of the 35 STPs, the treated waste water is dispatched through tankers,” he said and added that the demand increases during the summer months.
