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Pune civic body mulls making use of STP water mandatory to address water scarcity

The local government has sent notifications to 200 developers inquiring about their reasons for not utilizing sewage treatment plant water for construction activities and cautioning that work may be halted if satisfactory explanations are not provided. Based on available information, there are currently 326 ongoing construction projects in PMC areas, out of which 128 projects are utilizing water from STPs (sewage treatment plants), while the remaining 208 projects are not utilizing this water source. Therefore, notices have been dispatched to the latter group.

 

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) administrator, Vikram Kumar, stated that the choice to supply sewage treatment plant (STP) water was made to conserve drinkable water due to anticipated water scarcity and the delayed monsoon. According to him, civic records indicate that approximately 240 tankers are utilized for construction purposes on a daily basis. Among these tankers, only 70 are transporting water treated by STPs.

An official from PMC mentioned that a specialized mobile application has been created to facilitate the transportation and administration of tankers carrying treated water. Developers and other businesses have the option to utilize the mobile application named "PMC STP Tanker System" for accessing sewage treatment plant (STP) water. The registration details collected through this app are utilized to calculate the demand and supply of STP water.

In January 2022, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued a mandate within the city limits, requiring the use of treated water for activities such as concrete mixing and curing of buildings. The objective of this order was to conserve approximately 100 million litters per day (MLD) of water. When this announcement was made, civic activists expressed their enthusiasm for the idea but raised concerns about its practical implementation.

PMC officials have revealed that the municipal administration is currently considering the possibility of mandating the usage of sewage treatment plant (STP) water for grounds, golf courses, and other sports facilities. Currently, approximately 5 lakh litters of treated water are being utilized for various activities. However, PMC aims to significantly increase this usage to up to 20 lakh litters, taking into account the prevailing water scarcity and insufficient rainfall experienced this year.

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