HYDERABAD: Is it possible to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar, if the committee set up under GO 69 mandates it eventually? Experts note STPs will be a flawed idea for the two mammoth reservoirs because for lakes with lesser capacity, the waterboard has fallen short of cleaning the sewage.
Explaining the entire scenario eminent environmentalist Donthi Narasimha Reddy said that the city currently has only 31 STPs to treat the 1,800 million gallon a day (MGD) of waste water. However, the city’s capacity is so low that the 31 STPs can process only 700 MGD.
“The STPs are no match to treat the volume of waste water generated in the city. The STPs in the city are defunct or non-functional most of the time due to electricity charges not paid, or operation costs not paid by contractors etc,” he said, adding, “If this is the situation in Hyderabad now, what better can we expect for the two massive reservoirs built on the rivers Musa and Esi.”