State Level Workshop on Sewage and Septage Management

Date: 10th August, 2016 

Venue: Conference Hall, Project Building, Dhurwa, Ranchi, Jharkhand

The state level workshop aimed for sensitisation and knowledge enhancement of city officials on sewage and septage management was held dated August 10, 2016.

Thematic focus of the workshop included: 

• Sustainable wastewater management systems at city and institutional levels 

• Benefits of effective septage management for achieving city wide sanitation 

• Discussions on policies/guidelines on septage management and the way forward

The workshop was attended by a total of 45 municipal officials - executive officers and concerned technical/ non technical personnel from Jharkhand’s SUDA, JUIDCO and various ULBs including Chas Municipal Corporation, Deoghar Municipal Corporation, Dhanbad Municipal Corporation, Hazaribagh, Dumka Municipal Corporation, Giridih, Simdega etc.

The workshop started with a keynote address on “Issues and challenges in sewage and septage management in India” by Dr. Suresh Rohilla, Programme Director, CSE. The workshop kickstarted after Mr. Rajesh Kumar Sharma (IAS), Director, Urban Development & Housing Department, Government of Jharkhand talked about the “Sanitation scenario in Jharkhand”. He talked about the need to look for options for sewage and septage management that are more on-site and more suitable for Jharkhand. He talked about reducing the sewage conveyance and need for SPS (sewage pumping stations).  He urged city officials to rethink, reduce sewage conveyance and start fresh to explore doable and affordable options. Special address was given by the Principal Secretary, Mr Arun Kumar Singh, IAS (Urban Development for Jharkhand) who emphasized on the importance of septage management and its value chain. He urged the need for recycle and reuse of septage as well as waste effluent. He asked the participants to take full opportunity of the workshop as it covers all the required aspects for a sustainable and affordable solution with regard to sanitation.

Dr. Mahreen Matto, Deputy Programme Manager, CSE gave an Overview of AMRUT reforms: Responsibilities of state and ULBs which was followed by a few words from Mr. Arun Kumar Singh (IAS), Principal Secretary, Urban Development & Housing Department, Government of Jharkhand. Mr. Singh highlighted the need to focus on Septage Management along with water supply.

First half of the one day workshop talked about conventional and decentralised wastewater management approaches, their challenges and some successful practices. Ms. Chhavi Sharda, Senior Researcher, Water Programme, CSE highlighted that it is most desirable and sustainable to be able to collect, treat and reuse near to the site of generation. This reduces conveyance and ensures minimum energy consumption. Dr. Tuhim Banerjee, Scientist, NEERI talked about wastewater treatment technique based on plants, its benefits and various usages for sewage treatment and in-situ lake treatment.

Second half of the one day workshop focussed on Septage Management. The session started with Dr. Matto explaining what Septage is, its characteristics and need for septage management. This was taken forward by Mr. Bhitush Luthra, Senior Researcher, Water Programme, CSE. Mr. Luthra discussed various types of collection and transportation systems for septage followed by a very interesting exercise on "How many trucks would you need?" Finally Mr. P.K. Jha, Chairman, Foundation for Environment and Sanitation in his session talked about various options for septage treatment.

The workshop concluded after introduction to SFDs (sewage & septage flow diagrams) and realisation by participants about their usefulness for decision making and identifying intervention areas.

 

For more information, kindly contact:

Bhitush Luthra
Senior Research Associate
bhitush@cseindia.org

 

Mahreen Matto
Deputy Programme Manager
mahreen@cseindia.org