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06/30/20

HZL’s Sewage Treatment Plants expands capacity to 55 MLD

HZL has established an additional 10 MLD STP plant to make Udaipur’s lake and river free from pollution by sewage inflow & develop alternative source of use and conserve potable water. The plant is commissioned and now producing treated water, which is being sent to Aayad River.

Hindustan Zinc had set-up Udaipur’s first ‘Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)’ under Public-Private-Partnership model in 2014. Initially this STP had a capacity to treat 20 million litres of sewage per day which was expanded by setting up another 25 MLD plant during FY 2019, taking the capacity to a total of 45 MLD.

In another 15 MLD capacity expansion, a 10 MLD (million litres per day) plant has been established taking the overall capacity to 55 million litres of sewage treatment per day. With this expanded capacity, the Company expects to treat maximum of Udaipur’s domestic sewage, helping reduce the dependencies on fresh water.

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Sunil Duggal, CEO, Hindustan Zinc & Vedanta Limited, said, “We at Hindustan Zinc have always believed in empowering communities through ideas, resources and efforts. In 2014, we set-up Udaipur’s first sewage treatment plant with a capacity of 20 MLD under Public-Private-Partnership model. Over the past six years, we are inching towards tripling this capacity. This state of the art 10 MLD plant will further boost our efforts in pursuing our dream of a cleaner and water positive city.”

Commenting on the same, Mr. Ankit Kumar Sing, IAS, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Udaipur said, “We appreciate the efforts of HZL management for setting and completion of 55 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) including 10 MLD STP at Udaipur city, within the scheduled period, in accordance to the agreement. Vedanta’s Hindustan Zinc has always been one of the most preferred partners of Udaipur Municipal Corporation for all social development projects, and we appreciate the efforts they have done.”

Udaipur generates roughly 70 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of sewage. Part of the cities selected under the Government of India’s Smart City Mission, Udaipur has benefitted from HZL’s endeavour to treat the city’s domestic sewage. Sewage inflow into Udaipur’s lakes was one of the biggest problems plaguing the ‘City of Lakes’ giving rise to high volumes of pollution. There was a need to develop alternative sources of potable water and conserve the same. HZL’s units operate on the principle of ‘zero discharge’ and the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) represent a significant action taken towards conserving water as well as reducing discharge into the lakes.

The latest STP plant is designed on sequential batch reactors (SBR) technology. Sewage water is treated through various steps that include chemical free and biological processes, wherein the end product consists of clean treated water, part of which is sent to the rivers.

Following the commissioning of the new STP, 50% of the treated water will be sent to the rivers. The SBR technology has a better energy conservation rate whilst also providing chemical free treated water. The energy consumption has reduced on account of fully automated plant running on a hydraulics mechanism. The process of treatment is environment-friendly as well, since no hazardous emissions are generated during the process.

An additional contribution to green and renewable energy also comes from the fact that Hindustan Zinc has efficiently utilised the space for these STP’s by developing solar panels in close vicinity.

HZL is also in the last leg of commissioning an additional 5 MLD plant, taking the STPs total capacity to 60 MLD, thereby treating almost the entire sewage of Udaipur city and recirculating clean water.