Mumbai: BMC wants to clean nullah water before it enters the sea

The consultant will have to come up with a way to clean the nullah water. File pic

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will start experimentation to improve the quality of water in creeks and the sea. To this end, it has decided to appoint a consultant to clean out stormwater drains (SWD), commonly referred to as nullahs, before their contents enter the sea. "The consultant will examine SWDs and create solutions to maintain the water quality around their outfalls," said a BMC official.

"We have invited tenders to appoint a consultant to study the issue and suggest a solution," said Ashok Mengade, chief engineer, Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project. "This comprehensive study, which will tackle with water pollution issues, will start after the monsoon," he added. Recently, the BMC invited tenders for in-situ treatment of water in 26 nullahs, which will cost Rs 83 crore approximately. "The study is not a part of this project and it will be conducted in 227 places in Mumbai," said the official.

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According to the BMC, 2,400 million litres of nullah water will be treated in sewage treatment plants. The Ministry of Urban Development's estimate for sewage generation in a city is 80 per cent of the total potable water supply. At least 20 per cent to 25 per cent of untreated sewage enters water bodies directly. Some BMC surveys state that 74,400 sewer connections in the city are linked to SWDs.

The BMC is working to connect all sewer networks to the sewer treatment plan. Being a long-term programme, this will take time. Also, nullahs see nonweather flow, which refers to the entry of contaminated water into watercourses. "This is also not good for the marine environment," the official said. Activists, however, said the civic body should focus on root causes rather than conducting experiments.

Environmentalist Stalin Dayanand said that while activists are fighting in the Supreme Court to save marine life from drainage, the BMC should work on root causes to prevent sewer and contaminated water from entering SWDs. "Instead of doing experiments, BMC should take concrete steps," he added.

Civic activist Anil Galgali noted that such projects had been announced many times. "The BMC should identify the advantages and disadvantages of the project before its implementation. This kind of project must be beneficial in the long run," he added.