The new sewage treatment plant at Elamkulam is likely to be commissioned in June.
The new plant will replace the decades-old one located on the same campus. The ₹16.5-crore plant has an installed capacity to treat 5 MLD of septage. Though the installed capacity of the ageing plant was 4.5 MLD, its capacity was reduced to 3.75 MLD over the years. The existing plant has been catering to 1,780 houses located in six divisions of the region.
With the new plant up and running, sewage treatment capacity would be enhanced by around 30% and more houses and institutions would be added to the network, said civic officials. With the commissioning of the existing plant, only five per cent of the city areas could be covered. The Elamkulam plant was set up about five decades ago, they added.
The Kerala Water Authority, which is setting up the plant, has suggested developing an additional network of connections, considering the enhanced capacity of the new unit. A proposal for widening the network was shared with the civic authorities of Kochi, said an official.
The new plant is being set up in such a way that its capacity can be enhanced later. The authorities are also working on a new proposal to set up another plant on the same campus with an installed capacity of 15 MLD.
The KWA also owns a holding at Chilavannoor, where another plant could be set up. Since land is available with the KWA, the setting up of a few more plants will be an easy task for the agency. The non-availability of land and stiff public resistance against projects announced earlier had been the two major obstacles before the civic authorities in implementing the projects, added the officials.
