HMWSSB lays focus on commercial buildings to fix sewage problem

Hyderabad: To strengthen the sewage system and solve the sewage overflow issue, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewage Board (HMWSSB) will focus on multi-storey and commercial buildings. In that regard, the board has planned to make silt chambers mandatory for sewerage connections.

According to the HMWSSB officials, in the ongoing 90-day sewerage special drive, it was found that the waste that was oozing out from the sewage pipeline has become an obstacle, especially since it has been generated from the multi-storied building complex. First the waste enters the silt chamber, and with solids staying there, only the waste water enters the pipeline and this is obstructing the flow of sewage in the drainage. During the review meeting held on Saturday, it was decided to make silt chambers mandatory for sewerage connections of multi-storied and commercial buildings and also planned to upgrade the pipelines.

Stretching on upgrading the sewage line, a senior officer, HMWSSB, said, “In place of the previous houses, newly constructed multi-storied sewerage connections should be upgraded. Large-scale multi-storied buildings have replaced the previously independent houses, but the sewerage pipelines are still the old ones, without any upgrades. As a result, the increased pressure on these pipelines leads to overflow and frequent sewage blockages. To avoid these problems, the water board suggests the users upgrade the pipe size according to the latest condition in place of the old sewerage pipelines. It is issuing notices to identify such people and upgrade them. Also, the board has decided to encourage the users to set up sewage outlets in the colonies as well.

“The water board plans to crack down on users of multi-storied buildings if they do not construct silt chambers for sewage connections. It has been identified a large amount of insoluble food waste, plastic bottles, coconut shells, clothes, napkins, and other plastic products in manholes, mainly in the sewage pipelines of commercial and multi-storied building complexes. Some commercial buildings have already been identified, and notices were issued. A deadline for the construction of silt chambers for sewerage connections is expected to be set by the end of December. If the silt chambers were not constructed till then, strict action is being contemplated,” he added.