Apartment Communities are in trouble with KSPCB new norms
The apartment communities in Bangalore demands the KSPCB to relax condition of “Zero Discharge” imposed and stringent conditions on quality of treated water.
According to Karnataka State Pollution Board (KSPCB), there should be “Zero Discharge” in High-rise Apartment Complexes or apartment communities in city by installing Sewage Treatment Plant with 100 per cent recycling. The KSPCB also imposes more stringent conditions on quality of treated water from the domestic sewage treatment plants. With new norms for install STP with 100 per cent recycling, KSPCB Puts Apartment Communities in Dilemma.
As per KSPCB new norms no apartment communities in the city are allowed to dispose treated water outside the apartment premises or campus. If any apartment community fails to install STP with 100 per cent water recycling or dispose treated water outside the premises, KSPCB will take legal action and threatened to disconnect water, sewage and electricity to the apartment and levy penalty.
This is in contravention to the provisions of the Environment Protection Act and Rules, which permit disposal of treated water of a specified quality into inland surface waters such as rivers, lakes, nallahs or drainage etc. The above “Zero Discharge” condition notwithstanding, the KSPCB also imposes more stringent conditions on quality of treated water from the STP.
KSPCB New Norms
| Parameter/Standard |
Environment Protection Standards |
New Standards | REMARKS |
| pH | 6.5-8.5 | 6.0 -9.0 | |
| BOD | < 20 | < 10 | |
| TSS | < 30 | N.S | |
| O&G | <10 | N.S | |
| Turbidity | N.S | < 2 NTU | Akin to TSS |
| E. Coli | N.S | NIL | |
| Res. Cl | N.S | > 1 PPM |
All Units except pH and NTU in mg/L (N.S = Not specified)
KSPCB should permit disposal of excess treated water
Installing STP with 100% water Recycling is a near Impossible and costly Solution. Therefore, KSPCB should permit disposal of excess treated water to find its way into water bodies in and around Bangalore such as lakes and “Keres”, which are presently dry, thereby restoring these water bodies. After all, the Environment Protection Act, permits disposal of treated water of even lesser quality to be disposed off into lakes and rivers.
US Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA) is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress. The agency is led by its Administrator, who is appointed by the president and approved by Congress.
USEPA permits disposal of treated water of quality 25 mg/L BOD and 30 mg/L TSS to be injected into wells even though they may be connected to Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW).
Stringent conditions on quality of treated water
Indian Standards for Drinking water quality (BIS 10500: 1991) prescribes a desirable limit for Turbidity as 5 NTU, and a Maximum limit as 10 NTU. But KSPCB new norms demands desirable limit for Turbidity less than 2 NTU. USEPA permits disposal of treated water of quality 25 mg/L BOD. But KSPCB has set the limit to less than 20 mg/L BOD. KSPCB has also restricted apartment communities from using BWSSB sewage and disposing treated water outside the premises or campus.
Therefore apartment communities in the city demands KSPCB that the condition of “Zero Discharge” imposed by the KSPCB needs to be relaxed to prevent unnecessary harassment of law abiding citizens by unscrupulous elements in the neighborhood of the residential complexes and even beyond.
Technically and practically impossible to Reuse 100 % Water
The various reuse options available for treated water reuse in High rise residential apartment complexes are:
- a. Toilets flushing
- b. Irrigation Use on gardens and lawns
- c. Car wash
There are no other additional feasible reuse options for treated water from STP (except Recharging Rainwater percolation pits – which I will address at the end of this note)
A look at the numbers involved in a typical water balance for a 250 unit Apartment complex will be illuminating:
- Water and Wastewater
- Number of Apartments : 250
- Number of Souls : 1000 – 1200
- Per Capita Water Consumption : 150 L
- Total Water consumption : 180 KLD
- Approx. Wastewater generation: 160 KLD
- Approx. Number of Cars : 250
All Possible Treated Water Uses
- Toilets flushing @ 40 LPCD : 48 KLD
- Irrigation on green area : 60 KLD (For approx. 2 Acres lawns and green area)
- Car wash @ 30 L per car : 8 KLD
- Total Reuse : 116 KLD
Therefore there will be approx. 44 KLD of treated water which perforce has to be disposed off, amounting to approx. 25-30 % of treated water generated from the STP. Experts operating STP’s in over 15 High rise complexes with number of units varying from 150 to 1200 Flats, indicates that the approximate percentage of treated water required to be disposed off varies between 25 to 40 %.
The new “Urban Reuse Standards” are neither sustainable, nor warranted under present circumstances. Therefore, KSPCB need to the relax norms and give proper consideration to domestic Sewage Treatment Plants. The apartment communities in city demands the KSPCB to relax condition of “Zero Discharge” imposed and stringent conditions on quality of treated water to prevent unnecessary harassment of law abiding citizens by unscrupulous elements in the neighborhood of the residential complexes and even beyond.
Disclaimer: The article contains data collected from article Dr. Ananth S. Kodavasal Director of Ecotech Engineering Consultancy Pvt. Ltd Whitefield, Bangalore- “STP: KSPCB Norms Puts Apartment Communities in Dilemma“
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