What are the costs associated with building, operating and maintaining an ETP and how can they be reduced?

 

India's ecology is worse due to rapid urbanisation and economic expansion. Regarding the detrimental effects on public health and the urban environment, there is grave concern. In light of this, the GOI established the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and delegated responsibility for addressing the problem of environmental deterioration brought on by river pollution to the JnNURM. The goal is to enhance the water supply and sewage system by lowering pollution of the environment and water. Construction of STPs as well as effective STP O&M are crucial for ensuring improvements to the water environment. However, few Indian towns have much expertise with managing and maintaining STPs.

Let’s have a discussion on the costs associated with ETP building and O&M, and how they can be reduced.

O&M includes tasks like managing a budget, coordinating service charges, managing assets, advising on house connections, maintaining sewers, monitoring industrial effluent, pumping stations, and treatment plants, maintaining water quality, managing ledgers, protecting the environment, among other things.

Building Costs

It can be observed that the cost decreases quite abruptly as system size grows, while it is extremely high for smaller systems. In actuality, the cost of an infrastructure rises in direct proportion to the project's size, length, or volume. Installation costs generally make up between 15 and 40% of the project budget, depending on how much pre-packaging is done and how much site preparation is needed.

Thus, if we compare a STP of, say, 50 MLD to one of 300 MLD, the cost of the latter will be around 4 times minimum and 6 times maximum.

Energy Costs

Based on the kW, numbers, and hours of electrical equipment functioning, the energy expenses are easily calculated. Typically, issues cannot be thoroughly worked out during the project proposal stage. Based on comparable reported STPs, a generalisation may be made. Well, its not possible to reduce the energy costs because it all depends on the effluent quality. One thing which can be done is proper management of the energy utilized which can reduce the energy costs significantly.

Materials and Fuel

If sufficient bicarbonate alkalinity is not present in the raw sewage to the level of at least eight times the ammonia to be nitrified, chemical consumption in regard to biological STPs will primarily be for the final chlorine consumption and addition of sodium carbonate. When a new STP is being planned for, this cannot be estimated simply. Sewage often has the necessary bicarbonate alkalinity, though. Costs for gasoline and other consumables should also be estimated as needed. While putting together the DPR, it is challenging to forecast this number. Therefore, it must be regarded as having occurred at that time, but 10% of the cost of civil works must be accounted for as "unforeseen things" for future projects, and the funds must be deposited in a security that won't require them until 20 years later.

Generalized solution to reduce the costs involved:

The seed money is a provision that would be used to cover system upgrades and unanticipated costs. There are no absolute standards for determining its worth. Whether there is a revenue excess in the first place will determine this. The remaining taxes, debt servicing, cess, and duty components are added when they become available.

An iterative budgeting process is a good one. The costs are calculated first, and then the earnings are confirmed using levies. A budget with a revenue surplus can be created by changing the rate of taxes. Consumers will have the last say, and if they refuse to pay for the services they use or contest the cross-subsidy policy, there may be consequences.

Why choose Netsol!

A well-known manufacturer of water and wastewater treatment facilities is Netsol Water. We have a reputation for being the best producer of commercial RO plants, industrial RO plants, sewage treatment plants, effluent treatment plants, and much more. In addition, our USP is our round-the-clock client support. We can also assist you in cost estimation of wastewater treatment plants.

Call us at +91-9650608473 or send an email to enquiry@netsolwater.com  if you have any more questions or concerns about the purchase of a product.