Untreated municipal sewage and effluents from cities and towns in the state being discharged untreated into rivers is causing 70% pollution of the drinking water sources, a recent assessment by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has revealed.

The CPCB issued directions in April to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to plan a comprehensive programme for prevention, control or abatement of pollution of streams and wells.

It also directed the MPCB to achieve effluent discharged standards for existing sewage treatment plants within five years.

On Monday, the Aurangabad regional pollution control board received the directions issued by the MPCB regarding the standards to be compiled with while setting up new sewage treatment plants (STPs) and for the existing structures.

The CPCB data reveals that the sewage treatment capacity in the state is 5,365.36 million litres a day (MLD) as against the waste generation of 8,143 MLD. The untreated waste of 2,777.64 MLD is discharged directly into various water bodies, which is deteriorating the water quality.

"Untreated sewage is the single major cause of water resources deterioration, which contributes 70% of the pollution of water bodies. Consumption of polluted water adversely impacts human health and aquatic life. Quality of treated sewage, generally of lower standard, is further adding to the problem. Very sizeable gap is observed in generation and treatment of sewage," the CPCB letter stated.

The CPCB reported that only 11,787 of the 36,254 MLD sewage generated by Class I and Class II towns in the country was treated in 2010-2011, thereby leaving a huge gap between waste generation and its treatment.

The central board reassessed sewage generation and treatment capacity for urban population in the country earlier this year. The sewage generation is estimated to be about 62,000 MLD and the 816 sewage treatment plants are able to process only 23,277 MLD waste.

"The monitoring of rivers has indicated that the water quality has been affected due to disposal of untreated or partially treated sewage into the water bodies. As a result, there is high amount of faecal bacteria in the water. This makes it unfit for human consumption or for other potable uses," stated the central broad.

Cities and towns do not have adequate system for sewage collection and its treatment. Thus, the entire waste water either falls into rivers or lakes or remains inundated on land causing potential risk to the ground water contamination.

The board also stated that a majority of the municipal authorities have not sought consent under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, which is a statutory requirement. They have also not provided facilities for sewage treatment. Considering these, the CPCB issued the letter to the MPCB on April 21 giving directions regarding treatment and utilization of sewage.

The board stated that the Tamil Nadu government mandated all the municipalities and all households to mandatorily connect to the sewerage system and pay monthly fee for sewage management to cover Capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX).

"Hence, in view of the above stated facts and realizing that rivers and water bodies have been polluted and to prevent further deterioration of surface, sub-surface and coastal waters, it is essential to issue the directions," stated CPCB.


Source: 17 June, 2015, The Times of India