Good news for those vying for a share of the booming wastewater treatment market.
Good news for those vying for a share of the booming wastewater treatment market.
With civic authorities increasingly finding themselves daunted by the task of sewage management, the field has become open for contractors building the mandatory sewage treatment plants in apartment complexes around the city.
Most of these have experienced practical difficulties and stopped functioning, as the many associations will narrate.
Slapped with notices by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, the residents have started fixing the plants at huge costs or scouting for simpler plants that won’t be a headache to manage or eat up their maintenance funds. Associations around Bellandur, which have been at the receiving end of notices, are now considering trying out a new technology to not only clean sewage but also make it potable.
The technology drawing their attention is phytorid, developed by Rajesh Biniwale, a scientist with the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). The scientist has been invited to deliver a presentation on the solution, which is a wetland system, in Bangalore. The phytorid treatment plant scores on almost all counts — it doesn’t need electricity or too much space.
Also, maintenance is a breeze compared to the conventional plants. “The activated sludge treatment or membrane bioreactor technology plants is very expensive on maintenance — about 25% to 40% of capital cost is required. With Phytorid, the initial cost is almost the same. Recurring cost per annum is not even 5% of capital cost,” Biniwale explained. Plus, this method of water treatment is more sustainable. Unlike the plants that have aerators fuelled by electricity, this one does not need anyone to go put on or put off a pump. The sludge formation is negligible; it doesn’t hamper the functioning of the plant. In terms of area, the requirement is small — a plant with capacity of 1 lakh litres per day would require about 180 square metres. Associations admit that sludge is an issue and has got them in trouble with the pollution board. “Sludge is a by-product that has to be disposed of. It is given off as manure. But that too was not acceptable to the authorities,” a member of an association revealed.
“We have developed technology and transferred it to commercial firms. These will take up implementation on the field and they can also take up maintenance for three or five years. NEERI will be responsible for giving design for every plant and also for supervision of construction and also ensure the quality of treated water,” added Biniwale.
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