MCG starts preparation to achieve water plus tag in upcoming Swachh Sarvekshan

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has started a survey of all the drainage pipelines across the city to check if the lines are connected to the nearest

The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has started a survey of all the drainage pipelines across the city to check if the lines are connected to the nearest sewage treatment plant (STP) and whether they need to be upgraded for ensuring the same.

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The main purpose of the survey is to help the civic body to achieve the water plus certification for Gurugram, said officials.A city is declared water plus if all wastewater generated from households, commercial buildings, and industries flows to the STP for treatment.

In the upcoming 2021 Swachh Survekshan Survey, a water plus certification carries 200 points. The certification was introduced by the Central government in August 2019.

“We are looking to turn Gurugram into a water plus city at the earliest, and work in this regard has started. We are surveying areas across the city to check the on-ground status of drainage pipelines and accordingly take action for laying fresh lines or repairing existing drainage lines if the need arises,” said Dheeraj Kumar, joint commissioner, Swachh Bharat Mission, MCG.

MCG officials said that the survey will also identify such sites in the city so that drains can be accordingly altered or laid anew.

Kumar also said that the MCG is also simultaneously working on a plan to lay pipelines from the city’s STPs to the nearest green belts, parks or construction sites so that recycled water can flow to such sites for irrigation and construction purposes.

He said that the MCG has already laid such a pipeline in a gated township in Sector 49.

The city has STPs at Behrampur and Dhanwapur. The two plants together have the capacity of treating more than 400 MLD (million litres daily) of wastewater on a daily basis, said MCG officials.

In a nutshell, the process of treating wastewater in an STP starts with the sewage being stored inside a tank. In the tank, the solid or heavier waste sinks to the bottom.

The heavier waste or sludge is then removed from the wastewater entirely while the rest of the wastewater is once again filtered to remove smaller particles.

Subsequently, the wastewater is left alone for a short period of time to naturally bio-degrade. In the last stage, tertiary treatment is carried out to remove phosphate and other chemicals.

The treatment of wastewater holds importance as a January 2019 GMDA report stated that at least 80 MLD of untreated sewage water enters the storm water drains daily which, apart from posing health hazards,pollute the underground water table and nearby water bodies. This also causes waterlogging during the monsoon season.