NOIDA: The Noida Authority on Sunday said by May 15, it will achieve the ambitious target of recycling 100% water discharged from one of its largest sewage treatment plants (STPs), putting Noida on the road to becoming a ‘zero-discharge’ city in the future.
Zero discharge means zero sewage is dumped into the soil as well as water bodies and also that sewage is treated before it is dumped. Commissioning work of the pipelines at the STP located in Sector 168 is in progress and will be completed soon. The waste water discharged from this STP is about 40 MLD.
According to officials, the capacity of STP located at sector 168 is being increased from 50 MLD to 100 MLD, as it was deemed necessary considering the number of high rise apartments coming up in the area. “The STP in Sector 168 will provide treated water for irrigation to upcoming green spaces, including a 75-acre bio-diversity park and a 25-acre medicinal park in Sector 91, apart from green belts and dust-free zones in sectors 82, 85, 88, 91, 92,137, 143, 143 A, FNG green belts in the city,” said Rajeev Tyagi, General Manager, Projects, Noida Authority.
Tyagi further explained that in the next phase, other STPs will help in irrigating parks, green belts and other green spaces of the city, including the green belt along Noida-Greater Noida Expressway and Noida stadium, among other areas.
“With this, Noida would not only achieve the ambitious target of recycling all its STP waste but also help in reducing dependence on groundwater as well as fresh water for horticulture purpose,” he said.
“Noida has also signed a `30 crore MoU with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) for supplying 160 MLD of water from STPs located in sectors 50, 54 and 123. The treated water will be used by NTPC for their cooling plants,” Tyagi said.
“Recycling and reuse of waste water is an important aspect of water management, as it provides a way to increase available water while preventing pollution of water bodies by sewage, he added.
At present, Noida has the capacity to treat 231 MLD sewage in its six STPs. Two STPs each are located in sectors 54 and 50, and one each in sectors 123 and 168. The total sewage generated in Noida is 175 MLD. However, as per a study by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, in 2016, it was estimated that Noida will generate 310 MLD of sewage by 2021, by which time the population is expected to rise from 10 lakh to 25 lakh.
Hence, a vision was put forward by Noida Authority Chairperson and CEO Alok Tandon to make Noida a “zero-discharge” city by using all its waste water.
Officials said the six STPs in Noida are models in themselves. Unlike the general perception that these would be full of smell and stink as they treat waste from all over Noida, the STP campuses boast of sparkling clean spaces, lush greenery and no smell even inside the water recycling unit. The treated water is so clean that one can even drink it after the RO filtration process.