22nd March 2017, 07:05 Hrs
33.2 MLD of water gets treated everyday but all of it gets drained into rivers and the ocean, with a minimal amount being recycled. The ground water table and Goa’s rivers are already polluted and in such a situation, recycling waste water seems to be a healthy alternative.
the goan I network
PANAJI
The Sewerage and Infrastructural Development Corporation of Goa (SIDCG) was set up to create sewerage systems to all municipalities and coastal areas. Currently only 13 percent of Goa’s urban population is served by sewerage system, much lower than the all India average of 28 percent. Karnataka has 40 percent of its urban population under sewerage system while Karnataka has 38 percent.
The threat however lies in maintaining natural resources like the quality of ground water. “Septic tanks and soak pits make the water it contains even more hazardous and dangerous and finally get to the ground water table, therefore contaminating it too. 90 percent of the ground water table is contaminated, so are all our rivers. The rivers are not even fit for bathing. Soil fertility is also getting damaged. Agriculture and horticulture is getting affected,” said Arvind Patil, SIDCG managing director.
He added that in such conditions, developing the waste water system is crucial. Currently the three functioning Sewerage Treatment Plants (STP) in Panaji, Margao and Vasco use the Sequential Batch Reactor procedure to treat water. “After treatment, it is good water that can be used for gardening and flushing of toilets. A second step of treatment will make the water as good as drinkable, but the society would not accept such a concept,” he said adding that today, treated waste water is released into water bodies like the River Sal and the Arabian Sea.
Instead, the SIDCG plans to create channels to distribute this water to hotels and industries that can make use of the treated water. The corporation has proposed and is working on plans to distribute the water to places like Kala Academy in Panjim and MPT in Vasco. Patil says the most viable to implement is the MPT that is closest to the STP.
Plans are also underway to lay sewerage pipes along several locations including a 20 kilometer stretch of the South Goa coastal belt with three STPs in the area. Another project that is 75 percent complete is a sewerage scheme for Ponda municipality including Curti, Bandora, Kavlem and other urban agglomerates in Ponda taluka.
Currently, the state consumes around 500 MLD of water, of which, 80 percent turns into waste water. Most of the waste is either treated in soak pits and septic tanks, at the STP or ends up in a water body.
- See more at: http://englishnews.thegoan.net/story.php?id=31333#sthash.qAPF8gdh.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment