How much of the problem will the new sewerage infrastructure solve?
Published on by Ashantha Goonetilleke, Professor, Water/Environmental Engineering at Queensland University of Technology
I have been studying the documentation publicly available in relation to the creation of sewerage infrastructure as part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga. These are the questions that come to my mind.
- A few years back the State Government of Queensland upgraded a fair number of sewage treatment plants in South East Queensland (the most urbanised part of the State) at a very significant cost in order to reduce nutrient inputs into major waterways. This solved the problem only to an extent. It was realised that a significant part of the nutrients inputs were originating form onsite sewage treatment system from areas which were not connected to a reticulated sewerage system. My concern is that the same situation will arise in the case of Mission Ganga. There should be efforts made to extend the coverage of the sewerage network.
- Currently, the focus is only on improvements and new construction of sewage treatment systems. What about repairs, improvements and extension of sewerage networks. Sewerage system is bad repair can discharge sewage into surface water via groundwater inputs. The problem associated with limited sewerage system coverage has been discussed above.
- The documentation does not make any mention about the disposal of treated sludge. It can be used as a soil conditioner or fertiliser, but care is needed to ensure that the sludge is not transported back with stormwater runoff. What is going to happen to the sludge?
- The gap in sewage treatment capacity has been identified, state by state. I hope this also includes future demand due to population growth. If not, this is only a short-term solution.
- Will the contracts negotiated with the Concessionaire under the Hybrid Annuity based PPP allow for the incorporation of technology improvements? If not, the Government of India will inherit treatment systems which may be out-of-date at the 20-year handover period.