Bengaluru’s numerous lakes that are full of sewage are set to see better days. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will set up 19 more Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at Rs 2,500 crore over the next four years to keep sewage away from the lakes.
Once that happens, the BWSSB will be able to treat an additional 800 million litres per day (MLD) of waste water. Currently, it treats about 721 MLD. That means, after four years, it will be able to treat at least 1,500 MLD of waste water, more than Bengaluru’s current total water consumption of 1,350 MLD. Eighty per cent of this water becomes sewage or waste water.
The BWSSB at present runs 14 STPs, treating just about half of the waste water generated in the City. The remaining 700 MLD of waste water goes directly into drains and thence to different lakes. The result is that most lakes are full of sewage, industrial effluents and weeds. That has also led to the death of hundreds of fish, as it happened in Ulsoor and Devarabeesanahalli lakes recently.
10 STPs in Cauvery Stage 4 The board has started setting up 10 STPs at different places under Cauvery Stage 4 Phase 2 to treat 336 MLD of waste water. The project will cost Rs 1,204 crore with an agreement of operation and maintenance for seven years. These STPs are coming up in Raja canal (40 MLD), Horamavu Agara (20 MLD), Nagasandra (20 MLD), Chikkabanavara (5 MLD), Kadugodi (6 MLD), Kengeri (60 MLD), K & C valley (60 MLD), Bellandur (90 MLD), Doddabele (20 MLD) and Yellamallappa Chetty (15 MLD). The project is expected to be completed in July 2017, a BWSSB official said.
4 STPs at Rs 1,210 cr The government, in the 2016-17 budget, approved 25% assistance (Rs 355.5 crore) to build STPs in Vrushabhavathi Valley, Hebbal lake, Koramangala-Challaghatta valley and Doddabele lake. These plants will be established at Rs 1,210 crore to treat 300 MLD of sewage. The BWSSB will borrow Rs 630 crore from the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation. Tenders will be called in a week, a senior BWSSB official said.
5 STPs under Amrut The board also plans to build five small STPs under the Centre’s Amrut (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) scheme at Rs 165 crore, with the State government sharing 20% of the cost. These STPs will come up in KR Puram, Sarakki, Begur, Hulimavu (40 MLD capacity each) and Agara (35 MLD).
M N Thippeswamy, the BWSSB’s former chief engineer, however, says the board should rectify the conveyance system and the sewage lines before setting up the STPs. “Sewage lines are either corroded or too old,” he said. “Establishing the STPs is not enough. Sewage should reach these plants.”