Five mega effluent treatment plants have been designed for Karachi at the cost of Rs 12 billion to treat the industrial wastewater. Federal and Sindh government approved these plants by committing to share their cost. The tender documents are under preparation and the project is expected to be launched soon, Sindh Water Commission (SWC) former Chief Justice Amir Hani Muslim stated at a seminar on 'industrial wastewater management' here on Saturday.
The seminar was organized by US-Pakistan Centre for Advances Studies in Water (USPCAS-W), Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET). Delivering the keynote address as the chief guest, Justice Hani said five huge effluent treatment plants have been designed for SITE Karachi, Trans-Lyari Zone, F B Area / North Karachi zone, Landhi/Korangi zone and Superhighway SITE Phase-II.
He told the audience that the commission got the Nooriabad effluent treatment requirements studied and a new Combined Effluent Treatment Plant for Nooriabad Industrial Area worth Rs 400 million is at the procurement stage now and the work on ground is expected to begin within a month's time.
Likewise, the Kotri Industrial area effluent treatment plant is about to go for its upgrade and rehabilitation at the cost of Rs 90 million, he stated. Speaking about the steps taken by the commission since its inception, he stated that on its intervention, rules to regulate use of sub-surface water for industrial use have been framed for the first time.
He revealed that there was no data on industries available when the commission stepped in. "The data as to how many and which industrial units were complying with the primary treatment requirements and otherwise, was not available", he added.
Justice Hani said the commission through Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) is going to complete a detailed survey regarding the status of compliance of its directives for installation of treatment plants in SITE Karachi, Korangi Industrial Area, F.B. Area, North Karachi Industrial Area, Industrial Hub in Ibrahim Hyderi area, SITE, Super Highway-ll, Landhi Industrial Area, Industries at Port Qasim etc
He said tens of dozens of industrial units have already installed primary treatment facilities and hundreds more are in the process of compliance and observed that commission did not stop at making the industrial units fulfil their obligation to the extent of primary treatment alone.
"Commission, rather, continuously persuaded the provincial and the federal governments to fulfil their obligation regarding secondary and tertiary treatment of industrial effluent", he stated.
He said with limited availability of fresh water coupled with generation of 3.2 MAF of wastewater annually in Pakistan, it poses a great challenge. He said that wastewater generated by industries (constitutes 6pc of the total) is usually disposed of into Rivers, Canals and the integrated Irrigation system, mostly, without any treatment.
This, in turn, leads to pollution of fresh water bodies as well as groundwater aquifers - thereby affecting the quality of drinking water, and in turn adding to the health and environmental concerns.
FPCCI Standing Committee on Environment chairman Gulzar Feroze, MUET vice chancellor Dr Aslam Uqaili, USPCAS-W project director Dr Bakhshal Lashari, Dr. Steven Burain, University of Utah ad others also spoke on the occasion.
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