The Sewage Epidemic

The arising issues associated with sewage treatment and access to clean water in India and the United States

While not perfect, most Americans have easy access to clean water and can expect their sewage to be properly accounted for. However, in other parts of the world, this is not always the case. In this story map, I will be discussing the differences in sewage treatment between India (third world) vs the United States (first world). I am going to look at the discrepancies in clean water access between the first and third world, show the data surrounding sewage treatment, and analyze its environmental impacts and the effects it has on the people in these regions.

India's current infrastructure has failed to meet the sanitary needs of one of the largest population centers in the world. According to an article published by the Guardian, "Less than 50% of the sewage produced in India is managed in modern treatment plants." The remaining sewage has ended up in the city’s lakes and wetlands (Patel (The Guardian), 2012). It is a problematic situation that needs to be addressed.

What exactly is a sewage treatment plant?

STP's are man-made facilities used to help treat human waste and bacterial buildup in wastewater. The wastewater is able to be processed through three different stages: primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary treatment begins the filtering process and is where "the sludge and all the solid particles get settled at the bottom of the tank." Secondary treatment uses chemicals to rid the excess bacteria and pollutants in the water. Lastly, tertiary treatment is where additional disinfectants are added to water as a final purification check. After it passes this stage, the wastewater is released back into the environment (NetSol Water, 2021).

Once the water is discharged, it is made "safe for human and environmental contact". The water is able to be reused and cycle begins all over again. Another benefit of STP's is that they help create new fertilizers and biogas which promotes additional plant growth and biodiversity in habitats across the world (NetSol Water, 2021).

What is the problem with wastewater management in India?

"India is one of the most water-stressed regions in the world, with 600 million Indians facing extreme water stress", according to a NITI Aayog  report  from 2018. The issue for India is by 2030, demand is projected to be twice the level of supply which could lead to water scarcity for millions of Indian people. (Nath/Parmar, 2022).

According to a 2019 research report cited by the India Water Portal, “out of the 33000 million liters per day (MLD) of waste generated, only 7000 MLD is collected and treated." The report also highlights that the National Policy on Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) was put into law because “only 64% of India’s 846 municipal sewage treatment plants were operational, resulting in a net capacity to process only 37% of the total human waste generated every day in urban India" (Nath, Parmar, 2022)

 

State- wide Sewage Generation and Treatment Capacity in India

Sewage Generation in MLD (Millions of Liters per Day). Total amount of sewage produced.

Installed Capacity in MLD (Millions of Liters per Day). Represents the sewage that is able to be treated.

Wastewater mismanagement has environmental consequences. According to Imitra Patel, a civil engineer and correspondent to The Guardian article "How India's cities came to drown in sewage and waste", wondered why the frogs in the marshlands near her house had stopped croaking. She realized that "the frogs had died from sewage and garbage being dumped in the wetlands" and even started a petition to the supreme court. Later in the article, she states that over a 50 year span, "the number of wetlands in Bangalore, India has decreased from 262 to just 17" (2012). Roughly 95% of the cities wetlands have been displaced, causing a significant decrease in habitat diversity. There may be other factors that have lead to the degradation of the wetlands in Bangalore, but the mistreatment of raw sewage is hurting the environment.

 

Why is this happening?

Urban areas across India are rapidly increasing. Larger populations are typically going to produce more waste and in turn will need additional capital and resources will be needed to regulate the sewage properly.

These increases have also "led to an increase sewage discharge that far exceeds the rate of natural purification. The excess nutrients thus generated cause eutrophication in the water body and gradual deterioration of the water quality” (Nath, Parmar, 2022). These densely populated regions are harder for countries to manage because more people are simply using the toilet. The current infrastructure in India be unable to keep up with its growing population.

Story Map GEOG 1030

Secondly, policies enacted by the Indian government have been little to none. "Only a handful of states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh have adopted wastewater management policies." However, there is not a mandate on a federal level that would apply to every state regarding wastewater management. It leads to a few states carrying the burden of a nationwide issue and their efforts "to deal with water pollution are fiddled away." Nath, Parmar, 2022)

Ultimately, the rural areas in India pay for the lack of sewage treatment systems. While the percentage of household that have access to safe drinking water has risen, several states still hover around 70-80% as of 2011. From 1991 to 2011, urban households across states in India have typically had greater access to safe drinking water than rural households.

Access to Clean Drinking water in India (1990-2011)

The US approach to Sewage Treatment

The United States has "more than 16,000 publicly owned wastewater treatment systems of preserving the majority of wastewater needs in the United States. The remainder of the population - approximately 20% of Americans- rely on onsite wastewater systems such as septic tanks. Addition data in the report claims that "62.5 billion gallons of wastewater per day is being treated by centralized WWTPs. Across all sizes of WWTPs, systems are operating at an average of 81% of their design capacity" (ASCE, 2021).

Relative to India, it seems that the US is way ahead in regards to sewage treatment. However, the US has an aging infrastructure and rural pockets across the country do face sanitary issues. In fact, "the majority of the nation’s WWTP's are designed with an average lifespan of 40 to 50 years, so the systems that were constructed in the 1970s, around the passing of the Clean Water Act in 1972, are reaching the end of their service lives" (ASCE, 2021). The national government will most likely intervene and put finances into wastewater treatment infrastructure. It will need to significantly improve over the next decade to combat the problems associated with future urbanization and population growth.

According to Catherine Flowers, founder and director of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, “federal, state, and local governments don’t invest in rural wastewater infrastructure, leaving homeowners on their own to deal with the problem and vulnerable to low-cost contractors and faulty equipment (Bagley, 2020) Some of these rural households, and in this case Mrs. Flowers household, do not have the adequate resources to regulate their wastewater. The septic tanks used in rural communities are very expensive and low-income families are unable to afford them. Income discrepancies among people in rural vs urban communities needs to be factored into the issue.

Conclusion

There are some striking differences between India and the US in response to treating wastewater. The United States has significantly more sewage treatment plants and a population that is about 4 times smaller than India. The US has taken the federal approach in addressing the issue with the passing of the Clean Water Act in 1972. India on the other hand has essentially left it to the states to solve. While India had made strides since the late 20th century, most of their issues do stem from poverty. I believe that the wealthier country's, like the US, will be able to better handle wastewater treatment.

Citations

ASCE. (2021). 2021 Report Card For America's Infrastructure, ASCE . https://infrastructurereportcard.org/cat-item/wastewater-infrastructure/#:~:text=as%20septic%20tanks.-,Capacity,needs%20in%20the%20United%20States

Bagley, K. (2020, December 10). Filthy Water: A Basic Sanitation Problem Persists in Rural America. Yale School of Environment. https://e360.yale.edu/features/filthy-water-a-basic-sanitation-problem-persists-in-rural-america

EIACP Programme Centre on Hygiene, Sanitation, Sewage Treatment Systems and Technology. (n.d.). National status of waste water generation & treatment. Retrieved November 21, 2022, from http://www.sulabhenvis.nic.in/database/stst_wastewater_2090.aspx

The Guardian . (2012, August 1). How India's cities came to drown in sewage and waste. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/aug/01/india-cities-drown-sewage-waste

Nath, R., & Parmar, D. (2022, March 26). Wastewater management framework in India: Policy challenges and solutions for a sustainable future. India Water Portal. https://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/wastewater-management-framework-india-policy-challenges-and-solutions-sustainable-future

NetSol Water. (2021, October 4). What is the primary goal of a Sewage treatment plant (STP)? Water Treatment Company in India - Buy STP, ETP, RO Plant | Netsol Water. https://www.netsolwater.com/what-is-the-primary-goal-of-a-sewage-treatment-plant.php?blog=101