From this June, the mud at the Chisinau Wastewater Treatment Plant will no longer be dehydrated in geotubes. Two installed centrifuges will process the mud faster and the produced gas will enable to halve the electric power consumption at the Plant. SA “Apa-Canal Chisinau” director general Veronica Herta, while on an inspection to the Wastewater Treatment Plant, said that owing to the loan of €24 million provided by the EBRD and EIB, with a grant component of €11 million, the Plant will be modernized until 2020, IPN reports.

“We gradually plan to modernize the whole wastewater treatment process. With our own funds, we bought two centrifuges that will enable to treat the mud in accordance with the European standards. This purchase cost the water supplier about 8 million lei, but will enable us to save money. Moreover, the treated mud will not have such a high level of moisture and could be used in agriculture without being stored in geotubes,” stated Veronica Herta.

She noted that by 15 tonnes of household waste is daily collected at the Wastewater Treatment Plant as a result of filtering. This is a sign that many consumers mix up the sewerage system with a garbage bin. The garbage includes glass, paper and plastic. “The situation can become dramatic if this waste reaches the separators. Owing to this garbage, the pumps can become clogged and can even break up,” said the director general. 

Nevertheless, the Wastewater Treatment Plant copes with the large volume of wastewater. It daily treats about 150,000 cubic meters of wastewater that is discharged into the Byk River following treatment. “The secondary separators are the last filters. You can see that the water contains no household waste here. Moreover, there is no smell. The water is of a high quality and is regularly checked by the Preventive Medicine Center,” stated Arcadie Rusnac, head of the Water Quality Department of SA “Apa-Canal Chisinau”.

Currently, the sieving tanks at the Chisinau Wastewater Treatment Plant are being cleaned and disinfected. About 1 700 kg of lime have been used for the purpose. Approximately 50,000 cubic meter of mud have been taken away so far. Owing to the high temperatures, an unpleasant smell could be felt in the city during several days.