JOIN US4-MLD water treatment plant to come up in Cubbon Park
Using treated water for non-potable purposes is a proven remedy for the shortage of water in the City.
In keeping with this, an upgraded tertiary treatment plant (TTP) with a capacity to treat about four million litres per day (MLD) of water will come up in Cubbon Park, supplying recycled water to different government buildings for non-potable purposes.
Ramakrishna S M, chief engineer (wastewater management), BWSSB, said that the State government issued administrative approval for the project last week.
“We had submitted a proposal to the government after establishments around Cubbon Park such as Vidhana Soudha, High Court and Raj Bhavan showed interest to use recycled water. The recycled water could be used for non-potable purposes,” he said and added that setting up a tertiary treatment plant would cost about Rs 4 crore for each MLD.
At present, there are four TTPs in the City, including one in Cubbon Park. A TTP with 60 MLD capacity was set up in Vrishabhavathi valley to cater to Karnataka Power Corporation, while 10 MLD of treated water from Yelahanka TTP is supplied to Kempegowda International Airport, BEL and Indian Air Force. The 1.5-MLD treatment plant in Lalbagh makes the garden self-sufficient for gardening purposes, he said.
BWSSB chairman T M Vijay Bhaskar had, in the past, expressed disappointment over lack of demand for recycled water and had appealed to the construction and industrial sector to use recycled water. Recycled water saves considerable amount of fresh, potable water for domestic users.
Ramakrishna said treated water was available at Rs 20 per kilo litre for the government and at Rs 25 for private firms, which would be supplied through pipelines. It would cost Rs 15, if supplied through private tankers, he said. However, the BWSSB, which fetches Cauvery water from nearly 100 km away and about 300 metres below the City, charges around Rs 35 per kilo litre. At present, about 1,350 MLD of water is supplied to the City.
Sewage treatment plant
The BWSSB maintains about 14 STPs, which treat about 750 MLD of water. To treat the excess sewage, the Board has initiated the process to set up about 20 STPs with a capacity to treat 655 MLD of sewage. The Board would raise funds from Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).