Residential Training on Greywater Management in Rural Areas under Jal Jeevan Mission

A 3-day residential training on “Managing greywater at household, community & village level alongwith reuse option for treated greywater accompanied by field exposure visit” was organized at Anil Agarwal Environmental Training Institute (AAETI) under Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) by the Water Program Unit of Centre for Science and Environment from February 7-9, 2024. The training program was tailor-made for Level 2 officials working in Rural Water Supply and implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen program in different states. The participants were from different designations such as Block Development Officers, SLWM Experts, District Coordinators, Sub and Process- Engineers, and OIC-SBMG etc.

The objective of the training was to provide in-depth knowledge and insight into the concepts, of management of greywater at the village level and Household level. The design of the training program included the topics of greywater treatment, introduction to decision matrix, developing plan for greywater management, a conveyance mechanism for greywater treatment, and technological overview of the onsite greywater treatment system. A field visit was planned to understand greywater management at the village level and community interaction.

There were in total 27 participants who attended the training program. The participants were from three states– Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Rajasthan.

The objective of the training was to provide in-depth knowledge and insight into the concepts, of management of greywater at household, community, and village levels. The design of the training program included the topics of greywater treatment, introduction to decision matrix, developing plan for greywater management, a conveyance mechanism for greywater treatment, and technological overview of the onsite and offsite greywater treatment system. A field visit was planned to understand greywater management at the village level and community interaction.

On day 1, the topics covered were: the difference between greywater and Blackwater, understanding the pollutant levels and impacts of untreated greywater, community sensitization on the consequence of using untreated greywater, sourcing the data required for planning greywater management, and developing an overall plan for greywater management at village level. The participants were also told about the offsite technologies to manage grey water at the community and village level such as WSP, and DEWATS, and their design calculations, potential reuse options for treated grey water, etc.

The training on the second day started with a visit to DEWATS and SBT technology installed in the AAETI campus. The topics on day two included the topics of background, feasibility, site identifications, and financial details of household level/onsite level management systems such as kitchen garden and soak pits. On the same day, the participants had a group discussion and laboratory visit on water quality monitoring and advanced laboratory instruments to monitor water quality. The participants got to know about funding sources, grey water conveyance mechanism, institutional setup of the greywater management system along with the group exercises session wherein the participants worked on the village-level plan for managing the greywater.

The third day of the training was organized for a field visit to a phytroid-based treatment system in Maujabad village which is situated in the Gurgaon district, Haryana. The field exposure was planned in a way so that the training participants get exposure to the overall management of greywater management, their construction and operation, and their impacts. This was followed by the interaction of the participants with the stakeholders involved in the implementation of the treatment systems. The sourcing of funds for the implementation and operations of the systems was clearly explained by the implementing agency. The participants were very excited to understand the technical modalities of the design and implementation of the treatment system. Finally, the training concluded with the distribution of certificates to all the participants and getting their feedback.

The participants were very positive about the training and overall arrangements in the green campus of AAETI and provided good feedback. They expect more such training to be organized so that regular orientation and support can help in maintaining the pace of the Jal Jeevan Mission’s objectives.