Kathmandu, October 26

The functionality test of the Sundarijal-based water treatment plant of Melamchi Water Supply Project has been successfully completed.

According to Melamchi Water Supply Development Board, 168-hour testing of the treatment plant was completed yesterday.

Deputy Executive Director at MWSDB Ramakanta Duwadi said all the eight filters in three compartments of the plant were tested successfully.   “With the testing of the treatment plant, we can now operate the plant in full capacity of 85 million litres per day.”

Duwadi told The Himalayan Times, adding that the board had imported chlorine gas cylinders needed to treat water to make it fit for drinking purpose.

Chlorine is a highly efficient disinfectant and is added to water to kill disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, viruses, and protozoans that commonly grow in water supply reservoirs, on and in storage water tanks or water treatment plants.

The Melamchi project had begun functionality test of the treatment plant during monsoon season by using water from the Bagmati River.

Since there were no water supply channels, the project drained 30 million litres of treated water back into the Bagmati River.

According to the project, it had planned to distribute treated water through water supply pipelines. However, this could not be possible due to technical defects in the pipelines installed by the Project Implementation Directorate at Bhairabchaur Danda of Gokerneshwor Municipality -4. The damaged pipeline has yet to be repaired.

Due to defect in the pipeline system, the board had temporarily halted test operation of the treatment plant. The plant has the capacity of treating 85 million litres of water per day.

A joint venture of VA Tech Wabag Limited and Indian firm Pratibha Industries Limited had won the Rs 4.2 billion contract for construction of the water treatment plant in 2014.

Started on 21 December 2000, the Melamchi Water Supply Project is assisted by the Asian Development Bank and aims to reduce drinking water scarcity in the Valley. The Melamchi project envisages supplying 510,000,000 litres (170 million litres daily in the first phase and 340 million litres daily in the second phase) of water per day to the Valley from the Melamchi, Yangri, and Larke rivers of Sindhupalchowk district.