Oxygen plant installed to breathe life into Uttarahali lake

BENGALURU: In a bid to ensure that good quality water be released into the Uttarahalli lake, the local civic body has installed an oxygen plant to improve the turbidity level of the water. The first-of-its-kind initiative in the city is believed to be treating the sewerage water flowing to the lake from southern and western parts of the city. The oxygen plant has been installed next to the existing Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) in the lake, which will release oxygen into the lake’s water. 

The plant has the capacity of supplying oxygen to at least 75 per cent of the water that is released into the lake. Currently, the BBMP has set up an STP that treats 0.5 MLD sewerage, which is released into the lake every day. The oxygen plant has cost `60 lakh and has been operational since a month. 

Explaining how the plant functions, Jagannath Rao T, executive engineer, lakes, BBMP said, “The plant releases oxygen directly to the sewerage water in the lake. Once the oxygen plant supplies pure air to the polluted water, then the STP separates bacteria and other particles, and releases the water into the lake. However, with the oxygen plant’s capacity added to the lake, we can treat one million litres of water (MLD) of sewerage,” he said. 

According to the BBMP, the initiative is a first in the city under programmes that will be kept under observation for few months. Once successful, the plant is likely to be introduced in other lakes in the city.
Speaking to TNIE, B V Sathish, chief engineer, lakes, BBMP said, ‘The initiative was taken up in order to reduce the turbidity level of water in the lake. Oxygen helps in purifying the water and also helps with the survival of fish. The existing plant has shown positive results so far and it is feasible to be applied in other cities,” he said.