Tamil Nadu lays out rules for efficient septage management

Concerned at the unsafe and indiscriminate disposal of sewage collected from septic tanks, the Tamil Nadu government, for the first time, has issued guidelines for the management of septage (sewage stored in septic tanks).

As elsewhere in the country, the concept of septic tanks is the popular toilet model in many parts of Tamil Nadu, where, as per the 2011 Census, 55 per cent of the population continues to dispose of waste into such tanks.

The government has acknowledged in its order of September 1 that many of the tanks are not designed properly.

Though underground sewerage (UGS) is available in 21 urban local bodies, including Chennai, the capacity of sewage treatment plants (STP) remains underutilised invariably in all other places. In Chennai, the capacity utilisation is 77 per cent, and in some others like Namakkal, it is less than 20 per cent.

In its latest move, the government has taken its cue from the Union Urban Development Ministry’s advisory last year and sought to regulate septage management in cities.

Officials of local bodies, urban or rural, will soon start inspecting houses that have septic tanks to see whether or not the facilities are properly designed. If required, house owners will have to modify the tanks.

Wherever sewage is being discharged into waterbodies or stormwater drains, the local bodies will have to establish a proper collection and treatment system, by using the nearest STP.

The government has enumerated clusters of local bodies, from where sewage can be transferred to the nearby STPs. This will also address the issue of underutilisation of the plants.

On their part, the public will have to avail themselves of the services of only the licensed transporters authorised by the local bodies.

“It will be a challenging task, and all line departments will have to be involved,” says V. Ganapathy, a resource person with the Central government’s Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

A. Narayanan, Director of Change India, says there is a lack of skilled personnel for the construction of properly designed septic tanks, and calls for large-scale training programmes.

Rajesh Rangarajan, an expert in pollution and waste reduction, says the government must attach more importance to the reuse of treated sewage, requiring industrial units to use the treated sewage water instead of tapping into the groundwater.