As a part of a broader strategy for managing sewage and improving sanitation, while addressing the needs of areas not connected to a sewer network, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has decided to implement Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTP).
The MBMC has roped in a Thane-based ISO 9001:2015 certified infrastructure project development and management consulting organization to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for setting up the facility. The decision follows a recent incident in which operators of suction-cum-jetting machines (recyclers) were found to be dumping the faecal mixed sludge collected from sewage tanks of housing societies into open drains in the premises of the solid waste treatment facility in Uttan.
The MBMC’s underground decentralized sewage facility is spread across ten zones in a radius of 24 sq. km. Although a network of sewage lines measuring around 100 km have been laid supported by ten pumping stations and an equal number of sewage treatment plants (STP) equipped with the advanced Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) technology, the project is yet to be fully functional.
Moreover, several rural, coastal and densely populated (with narrow lanes and old buildings) are still devoid of underground sewer lines. Consequently, untreated sewage water finds its way to the creek posing a threat to the marine ecosystem due to pollution.
To tackle the issue, the MBMC plans to introduce the Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) by installing FSTP’s which typically involve a combination of processes, including screening, anaerobic digestion, vermi-filtration and potentially sludge drying beds for solid waste management.
FSTP will Add Power to Suction-cum-Jetting Machines.
The MBMC has recently introduced two suction-cum-jetting machines (recyclers) to clean sewer lines and sewage tanks in the twin-city.
A combination of a high-pressure sewer jetting operation, a suction operation system armed with a blowback system, the machines are not only equipped with a mechanism which can clean choked drainage, sewer lines and suck sludge from chambers but can also separate water and silt to facilitate recycling.
The FSTPs will play a crucial role in areas where a significant portion of the population relies on on-site sanitation and is not connected to a sewer network.
