Experts to check water treated at apartment plants

Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali speaks at Janaspandana -Citizens For Change, a civic grievance redress programme hosted by DH and Prajavani in association with the Prestige Tranquility Apartment Owners' Association at Budigere Cross on Saturday. DH PHOT

Manjunath Patil

K G Bhagwat

The event drew many residents of nearby apartment complexes. DH PHOTO/KRISHNAKUMAR P S 

The authorities face a peculiar problem about the water recycled at sewage treatment plants (STPs) in hundreds of apartment complexes outside the BBMP limits.

Instead of recharging groundwater, the treated water is going waste because there is no stormwater drain network that could link the lakes in various gram panchayats on the outskirts of the city.

Acknowledging the problem, Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali on Saturday directed the officials of the Bengaluru Urban zilla panchayat to set up a committee to certify the quality of water treated at apartments located in various gram panchayats of his assembly constituency. Once experts certify the quality of water, a decision will be taken about releasing it to the nearby lakes, he added.

He was speaking at the Janaspandana - Citizens For Change programme organised by DH and Prajavani in association with the Prestige Tranquility Apartment Owners’ Association (PTAOA) near Budigere Cross.

“Unless certified by recognised experts, the treated water cannot be released into any lake,” the MLA said and asked the CEO of the Bengaluru Urban zilla panchayat to constitute an expert committee that could visit these apartments and test the samples of treated water. “If the water quality is good, it can be let into nearby lakes through stormwater drains,” he said.

Col (retd) K G Bhagwat, president, PTAOA, said the sewage treatment plant located in their apartment complex had the capacity to store nine lakh litres of treated water. The rest, including the rainwater, would just run through the adjoining areas, he added.

Speaking about the excess run-off during rainy days, Kiran, a member of the PTAOA, called for networking drains.

Manjunath Patil, another resident, said that on rainy days, their area resembled an ocean with the sudden flow of stagnated rainwater.