E-Paper
Chandigarh MC to use tertiary water to irrigate all green belts
On Tuesday, the state-level high powered steering committee accorded administrative approval for strengthening the tertiary treated water supply system in Chandigarh at an estimated cost of ₹97.25 crore
As part of its comprehensive City Water Action Plan (CWAP), the Chandigarh municipal corporation will soon use tertiary treated water to irrigate all 1,800 green belts and parks in the city.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state-level high powered steering committee on Tuesday where CWAP was reviewed by UT adviser Dharam Pal, along with local government secretary Nitin Kumar Yadav and MC commissioner Anindita Mitra.
The UT administration has already given its go-ahead to the project, to be funded under the Atal Mission For Rejuvenation And Urban Transformation (AMRUT).
On Tuesday, the committee accorded administrative approval for strengthening the tertiary treated water supply system in the city at an estimated cost of ₹97.25 crore, of which around ₹12 crore will be spent on extending the existing 400-km network to 450 km.
Providing tertiary water for agriculture and related activities is one of the major objectives of CWAP to reduce dependence on ground and potable water.
Through tertiary treatment, sewerage water is made suitable for irrigation after a chemical treatment and sedimentation process. Tertiary treatment is the final cleaning process that improves wastewater quality before it is reused or recycled. Its bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) should be less than 5 mg.
Tertiary water network to be expanded
During the meeting, various projects under AMRUT, including strengthening of the tertiary treated water supply system and laying of tertiary treated water lines in left-out areas, were discussed at length.
“The City Beautiful has a large number of open spaces, parks, gardens and houses with big lawns where water is required for irrigation. Currently, 680 parks and green belts are being irrigated through tertiary treated water and after laying of these lines, their number will be taken up to 1,800,” said Mitra.
The civic body had started laying tertiary water pipelines in 1990, and initially covered Sectors 1 to 12 and Sector 16. Currently, almost 80% of the sectors have been covered and the remaining will get tertiary water through the City Water Action Plan.
Under the Water Bylaws 2015, MC made tertiary water connections mandatory for all houses sized 500 square yards and above. While around 7,000 houses are eligible for tertiary water connection, so far around 5,000 have been covered.
Besides houses and green belts, tertiary water connections have also been provided to stadiums, lakes and various categories of institutions.
At present, 10 MGD (million gallons per day) of tertiary treated water is being used to maintain parks, green belts and fountains. Plans are in place to expand the network so as to increase the treated water’s utilisation to 20 MGD.
“The project also aims to cover the left-out areas of the city by laying new lines and creation of infrastructure like reservoirs, pumps and electrical systems, especially from Sector 47 to 63, villages and certain pockets in sectors where the network already exists,” an MC official said.
Sewerage works also taken up
During the meeting, strengthening of sewerage network in Chandigarh was also discussed to ease the excessive load on trunk sewerage carrying sewage of southern sectors. An additional sewer line was also approved to connect the trunk sewer of Sector 35 with that located in Sector 44 at an estimated cost of ₹2.35 crore from AMRUT 2.0.
The committee also discussed and approved the upgrade of Kajauli water works and rehabilitation of Rising Main from Kajauli to the water works at Sector 39.
It also accorded approval for replacement of machinery in various phases of Kajauli water works at a cost of ₹2.71 crore.
