The proposed sewage treatment plant (STP) at Panjapur on the outskirts of Tiruchi is likely to have a capacity to treat 103 million litres a day (MLD) of sewage a day.
It will replace the existing plant, which was constructed on a vast tract of its land by Tiruchi Corporation in 1995 as part of phase-I of the underground drainage project. The exisitng plant, which has a capacity of 88.64 MLD, treats the sewage under the waste stabilisation pond method. While the open ponds absorb a portion of the treated water, the heat absorbs another portion. Out of 574.38 acres of land, 274.5 acres of land has been used for discharging the treated sewage at Panjapur.
Since the Corporation decided to build the Integrated Bus Terminus on the site, where the existing STP functions, it has decided to dismantle it and to build a new STP on a remote corner of Panjapur.
According to sources, the new STP will be designed in such a way as to cater to the need of the population of the city in 2031. It is estimated that the population of the city, which stood at 10,45,436 as per the 2020 census, will be 13 lakh in 2031. The demand for drinking water in 2031 will be 175.50 MLD as against the existing demand of 138.5 MLD In such a scenario, the discharge from the underground sewage drainage systems is pegged at 140 MLD in 2031.
As part of the ongoing phase-II UGD project, the Corporation builds an STP with a capacity of 37 MLD under the sequencing batch reactor (SBR) method at Keelakalkandarkottai. The proposed new STP at Panjapur will cater to the remaining sewage discharge of 103 MLD. It will process and discharge the sewage collected under UGD- I, UGD-II and UGD-III projects.
Sources in the Corporation said that the Chennai-based Tamil Nadu Water Investment Company Ltd has been entrusted with the task of preparing a Detailed Project Report for the new STP. A sum of Rs.91 lakh is allotted for the DPR. The preparation of DPR and the design of the STP has reached an advanced stage. The consultant had been asked to submit the DPR as early as possible.
