BMC goes green with sewage project

Finally the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has found a way to dispose of the sludge resulting from the treatment of sewage water at various pumping stations. The BMC will be disposing the sludge by burning it in the incinerator.

The BMC has already started second phase of the Mumbai Sewer Disposal Project (MSDP). The MSDP is not merely a sewage disposal project, it will be water conservation and power generation project as well. The project has been delayed for more than two years as the civic body was waiting for the Centre’s sanction and financial aid. The Centre finally sanctioned and funded the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). 

The BMC is planning to treat the sewage water and procure 1,000 million litres of water daily for non-potable purposes. The civic body has started preliminary work for the project that requires augmentation of the sewage network. The sewage water will be treated at seven pumping stations — Colaba, Ghatkopar, Versova, Malad, Worli, Bandra and Bhandup. While treating the sewage water, 1,500 metric tonne of sludge will be generated from the 2,300 million litres of water daily.

“It is just like garbage that we have to dump, but there is no place to dump it. Over 1,500 metric tonne of sludge daily is very difficult to dispose of. We are planning to burn the sludge in incinerator and dispose it after generating power from the gases given off by the sludge. We are waiting for clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests,” said Rajeev Jalota, additional municipal commissioner.

The BMC is aiming to generate about 17 megawatt (MW) power every month from the sludge, which can be used for running the pumping stations. “We will check the feasibility of the power generation project,” Jalota said.