Page 10 - March 2020 - WT Site

Toshiba Water Solutions receives order of two Delhi water doesn’t conform to ISO standards
Sewage Treatment Projects in India
None of the drinking water samples randomly collected from across
Toshiba Water Solutions Private Limited (hereinafter TWS), a Delhi conforms to the ISO standards of purity in one or more
wholly owned subsidiary of Toshiba Infrastructure Systems & requirements, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) informed the
Solutions Corporation (hereinafter TISS), today announced Supreme Court recently. Of a total of 11 domestic piped drinking
receiving an order from Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development water samples, one is from the residence of Union Consumer
Corporation Ltd (hereinafter BUIDCO) for construction of Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Pawan. The sample taken from his 12,
two Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and their Operation and Janpath residence failed on the parameters of odour and aluminium
Maintenance (O&M) services. These STPs are part of the sewage and coliform contamination. The BIS functions under the Ministry
construction projects undertaken by the Indian government to of Consumer Affairs. “It was found that all the drinking water
clean up the Ganges River. samples drawn from Delhi were non-conforming in one or more
requirements as per IS 10500:2012 [specification for drinking water],”
Sharing details on the order, Mr. Koichi Matsui, Chairperson concluded a 64-page report filed by the Department of Laboratory
and Managing Director, TWS said, “Under this order, TWS Policy and Planning Department of the BIS.
will construct STPs in Chhapra and Begusarai located along the
Ganges River and provide O&M services for these plants for 15 The samples were sent for testing at the laboratories accredited to
years. These sewerage network & STP projects of Chhapra and the National Accreditation Board. The test reports are on record
Begusarai shall collect the sewage and convey the same to the in the court. On January 13, the court ordered the pollution
treatment plants through underground sewerage network, where control board and the BIS to conduct a random check of water
sewage will be treated as per the design guidelines of Central quality in Delhi and submit a report in a month. The BIS report
Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation said it drew samples from various locations across Delhi and 20
(CPHEEO). The treated Sewage will be discharge to the drain”. other State capitals under an integrated scheme. Recently, a Bench
As part of this action plan, TWS constructed four Sewage of Justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta deputed another
Treatment Plants in Jharkhand and in Uttar Pradesh. “Recognized joint inspection by the Central Pollution Control Board, the BIS
for its track record, TWS has been awarded the next projects in and Delhi Jal Board. The Delhi government has maintained that
Bihar”, Mr. Matsui added further. potable water in the national capital is safe. The re-inspection has
been ordered for further clarity.

Why new policies are needed to tackle India’s 25 years after factory downing shutters,
orphaned wells with no water chromium sludge causes groundwater
contamination in Chennai’s Ranipet
It’s time to realise that good times of groundwater development
are behind us, and with it the dependability on food security and The sludge continues to seep into the groundwater, poisoning it and,
drinking water supply. India is currently the largest manufacturer thereby, the residents who live around the old SIPCOT complex in
of water well drilling machines and also has the highest number Ranipet town. Almost 25 years after a factory downed shutters,
of drilled wells. The flip side to continued drilling of wells, chromium sludge left behind has caused heavy groundwater
however, is the increasing number of failures and orphaned wells contamination. While a plan to get rid of the hazardous waste
that have become a nuisance. These wells have become death & detoxify water gathers dust, officials fret over how to fund the
traps as children and adolescents often slip and fall into them. clean-up. A lot of water has flowed down the Palar since the Tamil
Nadu Chromates and Chemicals Limited (TCCL) factory was
The growing stockpiles of abandoned wells over time are poised abandoned in 1995 but little has been done about the 2.27 lakh
to become point sources for pollutants, and turn hazardous. tonnes of chromium sludge heaped in its premises.
The future generations will inherit a huge underground debris
of abandoned holes left with pipes, pumps, motors and cables. The reasoning being the total cost of safely disposing of the sludge
Cleaning these wells will be a mammoth task too. The process would come up to a whopping Rs 500 crore over the years. While
involves removal of all components such as stuck/abandoned the Tamil Nadu government hopes that the Union government
pumps, cables and pipes, and thereafter plugging the hole with will chip in, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), which
natural gravel pack and grout, before topping it with a sanitary flagged the issue in 2015, has said its role is limited to monitoring
seal. It is not just the size of wells but also the composition of the remediation. Meanwhile, the sludge continues to seep into the
these materials that complicates the process of clean-up and groundwater, poisoning it thereby, the residents who live around
increases restoration costs. the old SIPCOT complex in Ranipet town.

12 Water Today - The Magazine l March 2020