The Times of India              28.06.2013

Sewage treatment plant at Muttathara gets operational

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much awaited Muttathara sewage treatment plant (STP) began functioning on Wednesday. After a week-long trial run using water, sewage was pumped into the intake chamber of the STP for the first time by around 1pm. The plant, spread over 36 acres, treats the sewage water using the 'activate sludge process'.

According to officials, though the plant has begun operations in full swing, the first three months will be considered as trial period. Though the original capacity of the plant is 107 million litres per day, only 42mld sewage reach the STP from the core areas of the city. Efforts will be made to bring sewage from other areas within two years, officials said. The government has already spent Rs 89 crore on the project that is estimated to cost Rs 333 crore.

A final assessment of the efficiency of the plant can be done only after the formation of sludge in the sewage that has been collected, an official said.

"The bacteria that would decompose the waste in the sewage water will take time to grow. It will take at least 30 days for the sludge to from," he said.

Officials from the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project, Kerala Water Authority and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission reviewed the project. The construction of the STP that began in 2009 has been undertaken by the Noida-based UEM Group. The firm will be responsible for the maintenance of the plant for the next five years.