Upkeep, maintenance of sewerage lines continue to haunt authorities in Margao

PWD has capped manhole behind MMC bldg; however, rainwater infiltration into underground sewerage line, backwater flow resulting in overflowing sewage manholes remain unresolved

GUILHERME ALMEIDA | AUGUST 11, 2024, 12:45 AM IST

MARGAO
The Public Works Department (PWD) has finally capped the overflowing sewer manhole on the main road behind the Margao Municipal building, plugging the sewage stink and giving relief to the commuters and pedestrians alike in the commercial capital.

What’s next, may be a question that will come to haunt the PWD and Sewerage authorities responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the sewerage lines. For, while the PWD has capped the sewage manhole with concrete mixture, the second time in two years, the main issues plaguing Margao’s underground sewerage line – rainwater infiltration into the underground sewerage line and the backwater flow resulting in overflowing sewage manholes, however, remains unanswered.

In fact, while it’s not uncommon to find the sewerage manholes overflowing with sewage in the commercial capital during monsoons, questions are raised how come the PWD or the Sewerage Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa Ltd (SIDCGL) have failed to identify the reasons behind water infiltration into the underground line.

Sources pointed out that successive government have neglected to find an answer to the issue of overflowing sewage chambers in Margao. After the issue was highlighted by the media earlier this year, the PWD, which is entrusted with the maintenance of the underground sewerage line, had embarked on an exercise of cleaning up the sewage manholes across the city, only to overflow during the monsoons.

When The Goan called up Nivrit Parsekar, heading the Sewerage Infrastructure Development Corporation of Goa Ltd to shed light on the overflowing sewage manholes in Margao, he said the matter falls in the domain of the PWD, which is handling the upkeep and maintenance of the sewage line.

Officials in the know, both retired and serving, however, wondered whether the project was handed over to the PWD after a thorough check up by the Corporation.

“It may be true that the upkeep and maintenance of the underground sewage line falls in the domain of the PWD. But, was the line tested and checked by the PWD before the contractors had handed over the line to the department. There’s a need to find out whether the rain water infiltrates into the underground line through the joints or at the manholes,” remarked a retired official.

Is additional 20MLD plant an answer to overflowing manholes?

Neither the PWD nor the Sewerage infrastructure Development Corporation has plans to carry out testing of the underground sewage line to find out the defects, if any, to the line laid over a decade ago. Instead, the PWD is believed to have proposed an additional 20MLD Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) at the Sirvodem STP complex, which is presently playing host to two STPs – one a 20MLD plant and the second 6.5MLD plant.

If sources are to be believed, the third plant is proposed at the complex in addition to the existing two in order to prevent the backflow of water from the sewer wet wells at the Sirvodem complex and to cater to the requirements. The new STP plant is proposed at the old 7.5MLD plant which was inaugurated at the site in the year 2000.

Sources pointed out that officials of SIDCGL and the PWD is believed to have veered to the view that the backflow of sewage water resulting in the overflowing of the sewage manholes is caused by the sewer wet wells at the Sirvodem complex. An official even informed that the back flow of sewage water starts once the sewer wet wells are full at the complex.

A host of questions, however, remains unanswered – Is a new 20MLD plant an answer to the backflow of sewage waters resulting in the overflowing of manholes? And, will the manholes stop overflowing once the new STP takes concrete shape in a year’s time?