Urban News

  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size
Water Treatment


Civic body to debar erring contractors

Tuesday, 19 March 2013 10:04 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India                          19.03.2013

Civic body to debar erring contractors

NASHIK: The general body of the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) decided on Monday to debar erring contractors from the tender process initiated for maintenance and repair works of sewage treatment plants (STP) in the city.

The decision was taken after members complained of the contractors not doing their work effectively and efficiently.

Meanwhile, the general body approved a proposal tocarry out maintenance and repair works of the STP at old Ganeshwadi at a cost of Rs 42.28 lakh for a period of three years. Corporators demanded that all treatment plants be oprated by the municipal corporation.

Mayor Yatin Wagh said, "The contractors who have not done a good job will be barred from the tender process during the distribution of contracts for maintenance and repairs of the STPs of the civic body."

Earlier, Kavita Kardak said, "During our recent visit to the Ganeshwadi STP, we found irregularities in the work of the contractor. He had not maintained the register and had handed over his work to another contractor."

Leader of the house Shashikant Jadhav said, "The NMC built the STPs for crores of rupees, but did not make a firm policy on how to run them. The contracts of agencies failing to run STPs as per pollution norms should be cancelled."

Former deputy mayor Devyani Pharande (BJP) said, "The NMC must run the plants on its own instead handing them over to the corporators. We still don't have the capacity to treat all the sewage generated in city. Efforts should be made to construct proposed STPs.
Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 10:07
 

Diamond City parched

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 10:41 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India                       13.03.2013 

Diamond City parched

SURAT: While residents in some of the areas in the Diamond City have started to face problem of water shortage with the onset of summer season, the municipal authorities are letting water go waste by ignoring the leakages in water pipeline network.

If the official record from Surat Municipal Corporation's (SMC) hydraulic department is any indication then around 125 million litres per day (MLD) of water meant for drinking and other requirements of the residents is wasted due to minor and major leakages in the underground water pipelines and valves at the pumping stations.

The loss takes place by way of leakage through the old and rusted pipelines both above and below the ground, loose valves and unauthorized water connections.

While some councillors claimed that the loss through leakages was as high as 30 per cent, SMC officials maintained that it was not more than 20 per cent. Although, there is no official figure on leakage, it has been estimated that of the total water the civic body draws from Tapi river, five per cent is lost during filtration process while another 10-15 per cent due to leakage in tanks and pipelines.

According to officials, though the department repairs surface pipelines, it is difficult for them to detect underground leakage. Also, the civic body has no maps of the old pipeline network, which makes it difficult to carry out repair works.

Prakash Desai, independent councilor, said, "Elsewhere people are not getting water to drink and there is no mechanism whatsoever to prevent more than 100 mld water going waste. Time and again we have raised our concerns in this regard, but the civic authorities are yet to plug these leakages."

The civic body has covered around 93 per cent of the 45 lakh population under the piped network. The water is drawn from Tapi river from four water works namely Rander, Varachha, Katargam and Sarthana.

NG Parekh, executive engineer (hydraulic), told TOI, "We have been regularly attending major leakage in the water pipeline reported from the city areas, but there are minor leakages underground, which are difficult to attend to."

Last Updated on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 10:45
 

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to lay pipes connecting sewage treatment plants

Monday, 04 March 2013 07:50 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India                   04.03.2013 

Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation to lay pipes connecting sewage treatment plants

PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has decided to complete work of laying pipelines which will be connected to the sewage treatment plants. With this move, the discharge of untreated sewage in the Pavana river is expected to go down by 40 millions litre per day (MLD).

The city, at present, generates around 271 MLD of sewage. However, only 200 MLD of the sewage is treated and the rest is discharged in the river without any treatment.

Municipal commissioner Shrikar Pardeshi said, "The water supply department supplies 415 MLD water to the 17.5 lakh population in the city. The civic body has laid drainage pipes with a total length of 1,287 km in the city. It has constructed sewage treatment plants (STP) in various parts of the municipal limits, with a total capacity to treat 330 MLD. However, in some areas, the STPs are underutilized, as there is no network of pipelines which can collect the sewage and move it to the treatment plants''.

With the new pipelines, the quantity of sewage water that will be treated will increase from 200 MLD to 240 MLD by end of March 2014. PCMC will try to discharge treated sewage in the river, particularly in the Pavana river. Utilization of the STPs in full capacity and discharge of only treated sewage in the river is a major feature of the Pavana river development project, he said.

In Pimpri Chincwhad, there are three rivers that flow through the area - Pavana river, whose 25 km long stretch passes through the middle of the city, 12 km long Indrayani river passes through the northern boundary and Mula river whose nine km stretch passes through the southern boundary.

More than three decades back, the water of these rivers was potable. But due to the rapid industrialization and urbanization in Pimpri Chinchwadand nearby areas, untreated sewage and industrial effluents started being released untreated into the rivers. This has polluted the rivers and the water has become non-potable and even unfit for agriculture. Environmental groups have protested against the discharge of untreated sewage in the rivers by the municipal corporation.
Last Updated on Monday, 04 March 2013 07:52
 

Treatment plant to reduce sewage in river

Saturday, 02 March 2013 10:40 administrator
Print PDF

The Times of India      02.03.2013 

Treatment plant to reduce sewage in river

SURAT: Finally, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and the Surat Urban Development Authority (SUDA) authorities have woken up to serious threat of water pollution in Tapi river. Millions of litres of sewage water have been flowing into the river from some of the villages located in the adjoining Kamrej taluka.

SUDA authorities have decided to set up a sewage pumping station and a sewage treatment plant in Kamrej taluka with SMC to prevent the sewage water from flowing directly into the river.

Official sources said the villages located on the bank of Tapi river in Kamrej taluka namely Vav, Laskana, Navagam, Valak, Kholvad, etc. are developing fast. There are over three lakh people residing in these villages and all the sewage water flows into Tapi river.

As per an estimate, around 6 million litres per day (MLD) sewage water generated from the villages in Kamrej taluka is flowing into the river from different exit points.

This has further deteriorated the water quality in the river, thereby affecting the creatures like fish and water plants in the river. Also, the polluted water accumulates in the upstream of wier-cum-causeway and the same water gets pumped into the intake wells to cater to the drinking water needs of the residents in the city.

EH Pathan, SMC's solid waste manager, told TOI, "SUDA has made a comprehensive sewage collection, transmission, treatment and disposal plan for the villages located close to Tapi river embankment in Kamrej taluka. While the project will be implemented by SUDA, the civic body will help in setting up the treatment plant and the pumping station."

Pathan added, "The project is expected to control the pollution in Tapi river. A plan proposal has been put forth in the general board."
Last Updated on Saturday, 02 March 2013 10:41
 

Wastewater no longer being treated as useless'

Thursday, 08 December 2011 11:44 administrator
Print PDF

The Hindu        08.12.2011

Wastewater no longer being treated as useless'

Special Correspondent
Rajasekara Murthy, scientist emeritus from Canada, inaugurating a workshop on ‘Wastewater treatment technologies' at NIE in Mysore on Wednesday. — Photo: M.A. SRIRAM
Rajasekara Murthy, scientist emeritus from Canada, inaugurating a workshop on ‘Wastewater treatment technologies' at NIE in Mysore on Wednesday. — Photo: M.A. SRIRAM

A three-day workshop on wastewater treatment technologies commenced at the National Institute of Engineering here on Wednesday, with experts underlining the imperatives of making wastewater reclamation and reuse an integral part of water resource management.

The workshop is being conducted by the NIE and McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, in association with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board.

Change in perception

C. Rajasekara Murthy, Scientist Emeritus, Environment Canada, who delivered the keynote address, said the perception that wastewater was a nuisance and should be disposed of with minimal treatment was changing, and the current view was that wastewater was a resource and should be treated effectively and reused.

This envisaged building decentralised systems of treatment and reuse with greater capacity, he added.

Dwelling on the water crisis in many parts of the world, Dr. Murthy said the limited supply of fresh water combined with inadequate sanitation had created a crisis situation.

Pressure

During the course of the 20th century, the global population had grown three-fold and the pressure on the finite fresh water sources had increased seven-fold.

But at present, more than half the world's population lacked adequate water resources and services, and according to World Health Organisation studies, more than one billion people lacked access to safe drinking water, and nearly 2.5 billion people did not have improved sanitation.

Strained resources

“In this country, about 25 per cent of the population does not have access to safe drinking water and 35 per cent have no access to sanitation services, and the situation is particularly pronounced in urban areas,” Dr. Murthy said.

The population growth and urbanisation with India's rapid industrialisation was putting pressure on limited water resources, and the challenges of managing the water resources were more pressing for India, where more than 30 per cent of the 1.2 billion people were living in urban areas, he said.

Dr. Murthy cautioned that ambitious and capital-intensive water resources development projects to harness and store and transport water over great distances, resulting in major water diversion schemes, were not sustainable.

Target

G.L. Shekar, principal, NIE, said the workshop was targeted at ground staff and policy-makers from local bodies and other public institutions, and would deal with the fundamental concepts and practical approaches needed for effective treatment of wastewater.

The workshop is being attended by 35 participants, and will cover the latest technology available for treatment of water in India and Canada.

 
More Articles...


Page 20 of 33