Tertiary-treated water must for big houses

Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 3

Finally, the UT Administration today notified the new Chandigarh Water Supply Bylaws.

The water bylaws were amended after a gap of five years. Under the new bylaws, the Administration has decided to make a tertiary-treated water connection mandatory for all houses/institutions having an area of 1 kanal and above within three months. In case of failure to do so, a penalty will be imposed.

Confirming the development, MC Commissioner B Purushartha said with the new bylaws, the MC would be able to save potable water. The decision to provide tertiary-treated water supply to houses having an area of 1 kanal or above in the city was an exercise aimed at saving drinking water and making people habitual in using this water for non-potable purposes such as gardening and washing cars. They were expecting that these amended bylaws would help the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation check wastage of potable water and would also help increase the revenue from water, he said.

MC Chief Engineer Mukesh Anand said they would spread awareness among city residents about the amended water supply bylaws.

The amended bylaws were approved by the MC General House at a meeting in July last year except the water tariff hike and sewerage cess. The House had rejected the water tariff hike and sewerage cess proposal of MC officials. Thereafter, these were forwarded to the UT Administration for approval.

What is tertiary-treated water

After undergoing a chemical treatment and sedimentation process, sewer water is made suitable for watering lawns and parks as well as for irrigating fields. Tertiary treatment is the final cleaning process that improves the quality of waste water before it is reused or recycled.

How to get a connection

A resident who wants to get a tertiary-treated water connection needs to apply at the office of the area subdivisional officer of the Public Health Department of the MC. The application can be downloaded from the MC website — www.mcchandigarh.gov.in — or procured from e-Sampark centres. The charges include nearly Rs 2,000 for installing pipes and fittings along with a monthly fee of Rs 50 for a house measuring one kanal and above.

Few takers

Despite spending Rs 15 crore on a project to supply tertiary-treated water to houses measuring 1 kanal and above, the MC has only 700 such connections. The MC uses tertiary-treated water for irrigation purposes in 55 green belts, 20 gardens and neighbourhood parks. At present, Sectors 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21 have full availability of tertiary-treated water. Sectors 2, 3, 10, 11, 14, 17, 23, 25, 33, 34, 37, 41 and 42 are partially covered. The MC treats 30 MGD of waste water and then releases 24 MGD of it into the drain as the demand for tertiary-treated water in the city is only 6 MGD.