The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s ambitious project to set up an advanced tertiary treatment plant at the Colaba wastewater recycle and reuse facility with the aim of treating the effluent to achieve potable water quality and reuse the same is gathering steam. A look at the project:

Location: Colaba wastewater recycle and reuse facility

Capacity: 12 million litres per day (MLD)

Aim: In a notice for invitation of tenders for the project, floated earlier this week, the BMC said that it hopes to improve the quality of effluent from the existing treatment plant. “The aim is to treat the effluent to achieve potable water quality and reuse the same,” the notice said.

– This is a pilot project for advanced treatment of wastewater received from the Colaba tertiary sewage treatment facility. Water treated from this plant can be used for direct potable purposes. The plant will come up at the Colaba wastewater treatment facility.

– The BMC planned to upgrade its seven sewage treatment plants (STPs) for tertiary treatment about a decade ago. The Colaba STP, being the smallest, was upgraded first for tertiary treatment of sewage, with a capacity to treat 25 MLD and was commissioned in April 2020.

– Around 2017-18, it conceptually took the project one step ahead, and planned advanced tertiary treatment of wastewater so that it can be used for potable purposes. The new plant at Colaba will have advanced treatment of water for potable purposes. This is a pilot project for testing and fine-tuning its overall plan.

Present status at Colaba wastewater treatment facility:

– It gets 25 MLD of sewage and treats it into water.

– As per its present quality after treatment, this water can be used for non-potable purposes, such as gardening, washing vehicles, construction work and firefighting.

– BMC lets out this water into the deep sea through a 1.5 km pipeline.

Cost: Approximately 250 crore, including operation and maintenance for 15 years

Construction time: 2 years and 3 months

Authority speak: “The BMC will commission a study to check the feasibility of the use of this water, whether we can integrate it with the existing water distribution system and use it for commercial and industrial purposes, or set up an alternate distribution system. The present capacity at Colaba treatment facility is 25 MLD. We will take 50% of this water and carry out advanced treatment for potable purposes,” a senior civic official of the water supply projects department said.

Breaking down while talking about his late coach, getting coached by Nadal, 10 heartwarming Roger Federer moments on camera