Govt begins trial run on STP at Muttathara

Reports indicate that the government began trial runs on the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Muttathara in Thiruvananthapuram.

The government would conduct the trial run for the first three months, reports indicate. The original capacity of the plant is 107 million litre per day, but only 42 mn ld sewage reach the STP from the core areas of the city.

The government is expected to increase the operation in the plant by bringing sewage from other areas within two years. The government has already spent Rs 89 crore on the project that is estimated to cost Rs 333 crore.

The project was recently reviewed by officials from the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project, Kerala Water Authority and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

The Noida-based UEM Group started construction of the STP in 2009. The firm is responsible for the maintenance of the plant for the next five years.

The plant, spread over 36 acre, treats the sewage water using the ‘activate sludge process’. A final assessment of the efficiency of the plant can be done only after the formation of sludge in the sewage that has been collected, reports indicate.

The bacteria that would decompose the waste in the sewage water will take time to grow, reports indicate.