ETPs were set up at hospitals following a stringent direction from the Karnataka High Court Lok Adalat.
An ETP is supposed to treat hazardous liquid waste discharged by a hospital. Treated water can be used instead of the water supplied by the BWSSB, at least for non-potable purposes. Thus the water bill can be brought down by a minimum of 20 per cent.
Pruning water bill
For instance, the ETP in Jayanagar General Hospital with a two-lakh-litre capacity was commissioned in June this year. The hospital spends about Rs 2 lakh a month on water bills. It uses approximately 1.6-lakh litres of water every day. The hospital is in the process of installing separate pipelines to supply treated water.
“We are planning to use treated water for cleaning corridors, laundry and gardening also. This will reduce our water bill by at least 25 per cent,” said Medical Superintendent Dr K Nagaraj. This apart, the hospital also intends to sell the additional water to the nearby BMTC bus stand for the purpose of cleaning and washing buses.
The BWSSB and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board test the quality of treated water and the functioning of ETP at regular intervals.
“Since testing treated water is a regular affair, sending samples to external laboratories proves costly. We will set up a laboratory at the hospital itself once the treatment procedure stabilises,” said K C General Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Vishwaradhya.
The hospital intends to save a lakh of its Rs 4-lakh monthly water bill by using the treated water for flushing and gardening.
Rs 2.2-cr project
A Rs 2.2-cr project to lay pipes connecting the ETP is underway at the Victoria Hospital. The facility with one million-litre capacity caters to Victoria Hospital, Vani Vilas Hospital, Minto Hospital, the Institute of Nephro-Urology and the Government Dental College.
A BWSSB official said pumping water to the ETP was yet to begin. The process had been stalled due to silt gushing into the plant. It will be ready only after pipe-laying is completed, he said.
Treated water is being let out into the garden at the Kidwai Institute of Oncology. Gopal, assistant engineer at the institute, said the pipelines in the building were scattered and providing a common connection from the ETP was an expensive proposition.