Absent septic tanks, open drains and textile dyes paint a dirty picture in Rajasthan’s Balotra

Balotra, roughly 100 kilometres from Jodhpur, is a town located in south western Rajasthan. The town, known for its many small-scale textile manufacturing units and cultural significance, has a rather amusing peculiarity associated with it —  none of its households have a septic tank. 

This was observed during a recent visit by the Centre for Science and Environment to the town to gauge the sanitation situation. The focus of the visit was to develop a Shit Flow Diagram (SFD) by having a field-level understanding of the wastewater and faecal sludge scenario, with some level of emphasis on the water supply side. 

Even a fleeting glance at the water resources in Balotra is enough to know that the town is water-stressed. It receives an annual rainfall average of 252 mm which is well below the state’s average of 435 mm, availability of water below ground level at around 200 feet. 

As per local residents, the water supplied by the municipality is accessible at an interval of 7-10 days. Only 13,947 of the total 23,000 households have a water connection. Also, the presence of more than acceptable levels of TDS (total dissolved solids) and chloride content in the groundwater and the limited quantity supplied under Pokhran Falsoond Balotra Siwana Water Project contributes to the water crisis in the town. 

All that doesn’t glitter could be gold

The desperation for clean drinking water is such that it is perceived as ‘liquid gold’ in Balotra. 

At the household level, water is mostly stored using large buckets and water demand is fulfilled by private water tanker suppliers. Storage of water in underground sumps or tanks is not observed due to space limitation.

Based on the field visit, it is learned that more than two-thirds of the population is dependent on off site treatment systems. 

A general perception regarding off site systems is that they comprise only sewerage networks for conveyance of the wastewater from the establishments and a conventional treatment plant at the end of the network. 

In an ideal scenario, a city fully covered with such an arrangement is the best in terms of managing all the sewage generated. However, in a real world scenario this is very difficult to achieve due to financial, topographical and execution challenges. 

Another type of off site system is the one in which a household has no containment structure like a septic tank or pit and the toilet discharges directly into an open drain. This type of system is generally observed in old parts of cities or where space is a constraint or in low income settlement areas or a combination of both. In Balotra, these types of systems are in huge numbers due to space constraints. 

The challenges for Balotra

With an area of 29 sq km and with population density of 2,451 persons per sq km, the majority of the households in the town are small in size (average area of 500 sq ft) having an almost negligible open area and with narrow lanes that are at most two metres wide. These attributes leave no room for a proper containment structure within the household premises. 

In Balotra, both type of offsite sanitation systems are almost equally divided — 41 per cent of the households connected with sewer systems and 38 per cent of the households directly discharge into open drains. This is as per data collected and interpreted for generating a SFD of Balotra.

The remaining portion of the town i.e. the new parts of the city built on its peripheral boundary is dependent on onsite sanitation systems. Town masons revealed that only semi-lined structures, known locally as ‘gutter’, are exclusively built by them. 

This is due to a mix of households directing the masons to construct such a structure, owing to lower expenses incurred in building one. Second, households are suggested to prefer such structures by masons over lined systems such as septic tanks as these require infrequent emptying. 

 A town like Balotra with most of its households dependent on offsite sanitation systems and the remainder on semi-lined onsite sanitation systems, where groundwater contamination does not have a significant role to play due to a very low water table, paints a fairly positive picture regarding its overall sanitation scenario and has a good proportion of safely managed excreta as per the SFD.  

However, the ground reality is completely different. 

Around 10,000 households in Balotra are connected to the sewerage network. To achieve this, the Rajasthan Urban Infrastructure Development Project (RUIDP) has laid 53 sq km-long sewer lines. 

The sewage is transported through gravity to a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) located in Jelra village. It is based on Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR) technology with an installed treatment capacity of 9 MLD (million litres per day). 

However, at present, it only receives 3.5 MLD sewage. This quantity checks out with the low water supply accessible to the local residents and coverage of the sewer network in the city. The wastewater received at the STP is only through sewers as none of the major drains have been tapped till now. 

But, upon visiting the STP, it was observed that the plant was not functioning well. This is substantiated based on the quality of inlet and outlet water, which had almost the same colour in spite of favourable results of third party lab test reports. 

On enquiring with the plant operator, it was revealed that the wastewater received at the inlet has a considerable amount of textile dyes that hampers with the plant’s functioning. The city is facing challenges for monitoring and enforcement protocols of the effluent from these small scale factories. 

A well-functioning treatment plant has considerable impact on the safely managed excreta as per SFD. 

The other wastewater conveyance means — open drains in the city — are not tapped. Major open drains, filled with excess garbage, just end up in a residual pool of wastewater in low-lying areas at different places in the city. 

Only in the monsoons does the water in open drains mix with the Luni river, which flows three kilometres away from the town. This limits the possibility of treatment and a positive reflection on the SFD graphic. 

As per CPHEEO guidelines, septic tanks are mandated to safely manage excreta in urban areas where sewers and STPs are not present.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) also promotes the same.  However, in the case of a town like Balotra, where there are no septic tanks, the very definition of safely managing excreta through particular means goes for a toss due to certain prevalent city-specific conditions. 

Some solutions for Balotra

To ensure safely managed sanitation, Balotra, as a first step, needs to make the STP function properly, besides tapping the major open drains. Second, monitoring of effluent coming from industries should be made stringent and proper enforcement protocols must be in place for any violations.

Third, modalities for reuse of treated water that is free from dyes and chemicals should be included in the city-level policy, plan and practice.

Lastly, groundwater recharge through recharge wells and rainwater harvesting structures should be promoted as a best practice.