The Hindu 08.12.2011
Wastewater no longer being treated as useless’
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.