Hyderabad: The Railways, the Telangana Road Transport Corporation, construction companies and car repair outlets drain much of the city’s groundwater, which is at alarmingly low levels.
These agencies have their own borewells to raise water for washing trains, buses and cars and this depletes ground water levels midway through the summer months.
To mitigate the water scarcity, the metro water board is now selling treated sewerage water at four junctions and eight Sewage Treatment Plants (STP).
The city’s grey water is thus being treated and sold in order to maintain the ground water levels.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority is already supplying recycled water from Hussainsagar.
There are two major steps in converting sewer water into usable water. In the first step, 50 per cent of trash and pollutants are removed.
In the second step, another 35-40 per cent of pollutants are cleared as water is passed through a secondary sedimentation tank that allows both solid waste and micro-organisms to form clumps and settle at the bottom.
After the two-step process, the water is fit for use for gardening and construction purposes.
“In one of our studies, we found that customers are using potable water for washing vehicles, gardening or curing under-construction structures.
“This made the board think of recycling the city’s grey water so as to save potable water and supply it to customers in summer,” said Water Board director of operations G. Rameshwar Rao.
“Even groundwater can be saved if the tertiary water from the sewage treatment plants are used. Tertiary water is as good as treated raw water and is odour-free too. Tertiary water of 20-MLD capacity is being generated at the STP at Khairatabad (Necklace Road),” the Water Board director said.
