You can’t call it the ‘toilet to tap’ concept yet, but it could still mean a lot for a burgeoning city which has begun to confront the disconcerting fact that water is not as plenty as it was once thought to be.
The Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Muttathara, which is also the State’s first modern STP, has received the go-ahead for establishing a five million litres a day (5 MLD) facility for tertiary treatment of waste water/sewage. The treated water would then stand a better chance of being re-used - in the construction sector for instance - thus saving groundwater which is already threatened with over-exploitation.
Administrative sanction has been accorded for a ₹5 crore work for establishing the treatment unit. The tenders would be floated in two months’ time, a senior officer with the sewerage division of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), which runs the STP jointly with the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, said.
“Of course, it would still not be good enough to drink. But it can find other uses. The current system at the STP ensures secondary treatment of the waste water,” the officer said. “People in general are squeamish about reusing the treated water. But there are a few takers. The wastewater which has undergone secondary treatment is being used presently for the construction of a mall. The tertiary treatment process would ensure better quality and hopefully find better acceptance,” the officer added.
The Muttathara STP, inaugurated in 2013, employs the activated sludge technology, where the liquid component of sewage is separated from solid particles and subjected to further treatment. In the tertiary process, the water which has undergone secondary treatment undergoes further filtering, thus producing water of a higher quality.
At present, the STP provides the secondary treated water free of cost from its vending point at Muttathara. But it is subject to stern conditions. Customers have to furnish an undertaking that they would not divert it for human consumption. Nevertheless, the queues aren’t long, courtesy the reluctance to reuse treated effluent water.
An opportunity
For the financially ailing KWA, this could also be an opportunity. The project, if it turns out to be a success, could easily emerge as a new revenue source. On the other hand, the STP’s development itself is fraught with problems. The 107 MLD facility at Muttathara was inaugurated in 2013, but it is yet to attain full operational capacity even after six years. According to KWA officials, approximately 50 MLD is being treated at present. Reason - the capital city is yet to be adequately covered by sewerage network.
