Bhubaneswar: In a move aimed at promoting sustainable urban sanitation and reducing dependence on freshwater, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned to install decentralised wastewater treatment and systems which can reuse the treated water at 30 public toilets across the city.According to the request for proposal (RFP), the civic body plans to install 5 KLD (kilolitres per day) blackwater treatment and recycling systems at each public toilet complex. The project will create a combined wastewater treatment capacity of 150 KLD, allowing treated water to be reused for toilet flushing, floor cleaning and other non-potable purposes.Officials said the initiative is intended to improve sanitation management while cutting freshwater consumption at public toilet facilities. The proposed treatment units will be compact, automated and designed for installation in small spaces. The systems are also expected to operate with effective odour control and low maintenance requirements.The selected agency will be responsible for the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and maintenance of the treatment plants. The process will include anaerobic and aerobic biofiltration, sludge clarification, ozone-based disinfection and micron filtration.BMC has specified that the plants must consistently produce high-quality treated water with biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) not exceeding 15 mg/l, chemical oxygen demand (COD) below 30 mg/l and total suspended solids below 10 mg/l, making it suitable for reuse within toilet complexes.“This is a first of its kind initiatives planned to be implemented for the public toilet facilities of the city. If things goes well, we will be replicating the treatment plan system across all the public toilets across the city. Currently, the widely managed toilet complexes are selected for the installation,” city mayor Sulochana Das said.Urban planners and environmental experts have long advocated wastewater recycling at public facilities as a cost-effective way to conserve water in rapidly growing cities. The officials say that if implemented successfully, the project could become a model for circular water management practices in cities.“Bhubaneswar, or other cities in Odisha, for that matter, is not looking at any immediate water crisis as other major cities and states across the country, but thing may change soon. We need to stay prepared for the situation and take sustainable steps like this so that our future generation will not suffer,” environmentalist Sailabala Padhi said.
