Grey water recycling, Reduce & Reuse

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In general the Tamil Nadu state has a rapid increase in urban population i.e., the proportion of urban population increased from 24.4 percent in 1951 to 48.5 percent in 2011. Lack of adequate wastewater treatment facilities has resulting untreated sewage disposal into lakes, rivers and other waterbodies. The cumulative result of unmanaged wastewater that the system cannot cope with has a negative impact on the health of people and ecosystems and is a challenge for ULBs. Conventional wastewater treatment as compared to decentralized treatment requires huge running costs for operation and maintenance over and above capital assets, energy cost and land availability.

In this ‘SuWaSeM’ mission, the recycling and reuse of grey water is taken up as initial target. Grey water can be defined as any domestic wastewater produced, excluding sewage. People need to be made known the benefits of grey water recycling and re-use. The recycled grey water can be used for domestic, green belt development and other needs except drinking. The load of grey water is high in multi-storey buildings, commercial complexes etc. Cost effective methodologies will be evolved if necessary with a prototype plants to use the treated waste water.

At the individual or household level, the most water is utilized in flushing, followed by gardening, bathing and washing. Water consumption can be reduced by using water-efficient fixtures that take care of excessive flow of water. Also, water used in low-end activities, such as flushing, can be replaced by treated wastewater. The local reuse of treated wastewater can help replace water for bulk urban requirements. Water for public utilities need not always be in large amounts. The quality of water required for what comes under public demand, such as for maintaining public parks, gardens and public fountains, and cleaning public toilets, will be different from the quality of potable water.