Latur: The Latur district administration is planning to set up 20 sewage treatment plants to overcome the problem of water scarcity, an official said on Monday.

Reusing the sewage water will help the administration bring down the consumption of fresh water, Collector G Shrikant told PTI.

“To overcome water scarcity in Latur city, we have chalked out a plan to set up 20 sewage treatment plants which will purify 6 lakh litres of water per day. Reusing this water will bring down the use of fresh water, so we can save more water," he said.

A sewage treatment plant, set up on a pilot basis, was tested in the city on Sunday, he said.

The district, located in the perennially parched Marathwada region, received poor downpour in the rainy season but got good post-monsoon showers, he said.

"We have ample water stored now. We are supplying water once in 10 days in the city through pipelines. The post monsoon showers have eased the situation," the official said.

According to the irrigation department figures, the Manjara dam, which is the key source of water supply to Latur, had over 43.22 million meter cube of water stored as on November 7.

The collector said various agencies and educational institutions were being encouraged to set up sewage treatment plants in he city. “We are helping with 10 per cent aid to private bodies and 25 per cent to educational institutions now," he said.

Water supply to 500 companies in two industrial zones of Latur was also resumed recently, he said. The supply was stopped on October 1 due to insufficient reserves in the Manjara dam and other resources after poor monsoon rains.