Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant

(FSTP), Leh, Ladakh

Submitted by:

Shaun George Sunny

School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................3
Faecal Sludge Management (FSM)....................................................................................................3
Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Policies in India.........................................................................3
Leh FSTP............................................................................................................................................3
FSTP Specifications............................................................................................................................4
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION....................................................................................................................4
PUBLIC- PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP............................................................................................................4
STEP-BY-STEP FUNCTIONING OF FSTP...................................................................................................5
NOTABLE FEATURES OF FSTP.................................................................................................................6
ANALYSIS OF FSTP..................................................................................................................................6
WAY FORWARD FOR FSM......................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................................7
INTRODUCTION
Faecal Sludge Management (FSM)
If sanitation is to be managed safely, it is important to go beyond the toilet and examine
containment, emptying, transport, treatment and reuse or disposal of faecal waste. FSM is
central to achieving the vision of an ‘Open Defecation Free’ India. Efforts focus on large and
dense villages and census towns. Feacal Sludge Management is critical for Safe Sanitation.

Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) Policies in India

The Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) is rejuvenating 500
cities with respect to water supply, waste management, urban transport and development
of green spaces and parks. Also, funds are transferred directly from the Ministry of Finance
to gram panchayats for works related to sanitation, solid and liquid waste management
(SLWM) and SLWM is funded under Swachh Bharat Mission(G) SBM(G) – all gram
panchayats can take up funds, with financial assistance capped on the basis of the number
of households, to enable them to implement sustainable SLWM projects.

Leh FSTP
This plant was designed by BORDA and CDD Society, executed by Municipal Committee of
Leh (MCL) and Blue Water Company (BWC). Influx of tourists, modern habits and increasing
popularity of flush toilets has led to depletion and contamination of groundwater which is a
major source for drinking water for the city. Cities like Shimla have seen cholera outbreaks
due to similar pollution of the water bodies. A sewer system is under construction and in
due course may only cover 40-50% of the city which could be too little, too late. The plant
was built to tackle prevailing FS mis-management issue in Leh city. In May 2017, BORDA
conceptualized a FSM system for the city that can complete the sewerage system that is
under development. A Turnkey public private partnership (PPP) model was adopted to make
the FSTP in Leh with a five-year contract between Leh Municipal Committee (LMC), BORDA,
CDD Society and Blue Water Company (BWC).
FSTP Specifications
 Altitude- 12000 feet
 Population- 45000
 Area of site- 0.15 acres
 Design capacity: 12 meter cube/day
 Sludge loading rate: 100 kgTS/sqm/Yr
 Effluent quality: BOD < 30 mg/l
 Inlet - Faecal sludge
 Outlet/end products- Treated water + manure
 Operational since- 2017
 Cost of the plant- USD 81,744
 Need- Poor design of septic tanks leading to groundwater contamination causing
serious health issues.
 Challenges- High altitude and extreme climate conditions (minimum temperature of
-30⁰C)
 Construction Period- 7 weeks
 Aim- To make Leh the first ODF++ city in India.

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
While Public funds can be identified, it takes time to allocate budgets, government
tendering process delay implementation and work against the urgency of the situation at
hand. Therefore, BORDA invited BWC to set up India’s first PPP in FSM on DFBO system and
therefore solve the above problem in a sustainable and financially profitable way.

PUBLIC- PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

The devolution of powers between Leh Municipal Committee and Blue Water Company is
shown in the table below.

MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE OF LEH BLUE WATER COMPANY (BWC)

 (MCL)
Will provide land for FSTP Will invest Capital to construct FSTP

Will provide 2 suction tructs for cleaning
services.
Will charge and collect a fee from every
house for compulsory FSM services.
Will send customers a notice of cleaning 20
days in advance
Will create a monthly schedule and clean
septic tanks
Will be paid a part of the fees collected
from customers, after septic tank is cleaned
Will train all employees and ensure all
safety standards
Will develop a plant nursery where treated
water will be used for greenification
projects

STEP-BY-STEP FUNCTIONING OF FSTP

Raw FS is emptied from the tanker into the screening chamber to remove any grit and
debris. FS from the chamber enters into the respective planted drying bed.
Each day, only a single bed of PDB is filled with FS and allowed to dry. Post solid-liquid
separation and digestion of solid fraction at PDB, the leachate (which has percolated from
the drying beds) flows under gravity to HPGF for further treatment. Once the sludge
accumulates to a height of around 0.9 m in the PDB (in 3 – 4 years), it is removed and can be
used as an organic soil conditioner. The treated leachate from the HPGF is stored at a PP
where it is further digested and disinfected using direct sunlight. A plant nursery has been
proposed to be developed on-site where the treated leachate and FS will be used to grow
plants and make Leh greener. The details of the functioning of the fstp is shown below:
 Planted Drying Bed - 10 units
o Solid-liquid seperation and digestion of solid fraction
o Area- 48 sqm./bed
o Volume- 12 meter cube/ day/ bed
 Horizontal Planted Gravel Filter (HPGF) - 2 units
o Treat liquid fraction using plants and controlled flow
o Area- 60 sqm/unit
o Plants used- Phragmites karka, Canna indica 1
 Polishing Pond – 1 unit
o Ultraviolet disinfection of water and storage
o Area- 24 sqm
o Filter material used- Graded Gravel, Sand
NOTABLE FEATURES OF FSTP
1. Speed in implementation- The FSM system became operational just after three
months.
2. No cost to Government- ULB has invested no money and pays only after services are
delivered.
3. Accountability and simplicity- The process is not complicated and BWC accountable
for failures.
4. New technology- PDB Technology for first time in India, DEWATS module used to
treat water at low cost with simple operations.
5. Respect for operators- FSTP will provide a comfortable office and rest area to
provide a positive work environment.
6. Capacity to increase- Building more PDB will increase capacity by two times in just
four weeks.

ANALYSIS OF FSTP
Planted drying bed (PDB) technology used in India for the first time—robust and flexible for
extreme conditions. No direct human contact with faecal sludge. Minimal odour during
entire process and aesthetically designed to locate it near habitation. Gravity-based system,
based on natural and biological treatment with no use of chemicals or electricity—a green
and eco-friendly system. Minimal and simple operations with no skilled operator required,
minimizing operations & maintenance (O&M) costs. A nursery will be set up and operated
using the treated wastewater and sludge.

WAY FORWARD FOR FSM

Design appropriate technologies: Treatment systems need to take into account the
geographical conditions, have low operational and maintenance costs
Create a robust institutional and regulatory framework with specific roles and
responsibilities for each stakeholder.
Create a participatory approach: Awareness generation activities to be carried out to instill
the importance of FSM with both implementers and local population groups.
Develop a sustainable financial models and tariff structures: This is utmost importance for
sustainability of FSM finance. The financial model is to be framed in a manner which covers
the cost of the treatment plant, transportation and be affordable to users.

CONCLUSION
The FSTP was designed and built in a record 44 days as a result of close cooperation
between the municipality, BORDA, CDD Society and Blue Water Company. The current
capacity of the FSTP is to treat 12,000 litres of faecal sludge per day. The Leh FSTP shows
how sustainable interventions can be applied at a lower cost for efficient management of
faecal sludge, even in the most challenging environmental and physical conditions.