65.
The 99 % THEORY FOR DESIGNING AN STP
Regular
followers of my blogs will no doubt know that I hold Plumbing Consultants in the
lowest esteem when it comes to designing a Sewage Treatment Plant. I have in the past compared them to petty traders
on Linghi Chetty Street and Thambu Chetty Street in Parrys Corner, Chennai who
would proudly announce themselves to be “ Manufacturers’ Representatives and
Commission Agents”
Just
last week I had occasion to reaffirm and reconfirm this belief of the role of
Plumbing Consultants and their incompetence in designing Sewage Treatment plants.
In
the first instance this plumbing consultant (who could rightfully claim to be the
descendent of a now defunct consulting company of the same ilk) did a simple cut and paste job of an STP of a Residential Complex to that of a
Commercial Complex. What makes things
worse is that the design brief for the Commercial complex clearly states that
working hours are only from 8 AM to 6 PM. Big mistake # 1 !!
Peak
sewage inflow hours, Peaking factor etc. are totally different in the case of a
Residential Complex and a commercial complex with a canteen attached. Therefore, Cut and paste is not the
appropriate design route to follow. Big mistake # 2 !!
The
Cut & Paste STP of this plumbing consultant was based on the SBR (
Sequencing Batch Reactor) technology, without a proper Decanting mechanism (
Heart of an SBR System), and also not meeting any of the established norms and
design criteria for an SBR Design. Big mistake # 3 !!
Sensing
something amiss, the hapless client of this plumbing consultant, a highly
respected MNC appointed me to review the Technology selection, Design, Engineering of the Cut & Paste STP of this
Plumber. This was a job I took up with
immense pleasure and glee to completely disrobe the plumber and demolish his
pretensions of being an Environmental Consultant and Designer of STPs. I highlighted several serious faults, deficiencies,
inconsistencies in selection of Treatment Technology, design and engineering
and sent a two page questionnaire seeking his response. Two weeks passed, and I got no response from
the Plumbing consultant. On my
persistence, the Plumbing consultant sought a Face to Face meeting to clarify
matters from his perspective. Big mistake # 4 !!
Has
anybody ever heard of a Plumbing Consultant winning an argument with Ecotech in
matters of Technology selection, Design, Engineering, Operation, Maintenance, Resuscitation
of defunct STPs ?
“ When Ecotech Talks,
people listen” is a truism
enshrined in Law ( well, almost).
This
Plumbing consultant apparently was hoping against hope for a Miracle to happen
like the one which saved Brother Dominic of Xerox fame in the blog above.
The
Plumbing consultant arrived for the meeting almost an hour later than the
appointed time. Big mistake # 5 !! I suffer from an Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder ( OCD) of being on time every time for every meeting, and I expect the
same from the opposite party. The
callous behaviour of the Plumbing consultant ( what else can one expect from a
common plumber who can only do a cut & paste job) had my blood boiling and
baying for his blood all the time I was waiting for him to show up.
Stumbling,
stuttering, floundering, facing a bombardment of technical, logical,
common sense questions the plumbing
consultant ducked under the Table and a feeble voice was heard saying “ After all Sir, 99% of STPs designed in
Bangalore today are based on SBR Technology “
Ah
! How foolish of me not to have understood this novel 99% Theory for Designing an STP !!
Dr.
Ananth S Kodavasal June
05, 2016
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