IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 05 Issue: 06 | Jun-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 269 ASSESSMENT OF USAGE OF TREATED FAECAL SLUDGE FOR AGRICULTURE B.T.Shivendra 1 , Tejaswini M 2 , Poornima Kamatagi 3 , Tejaswini P S 4 1 Associate Professor, Civil Department, DSCE, Bangalore, India 2, 3, 4 Assistant Professor, Civil Department, DSCE, Bangalore, India Abstract Developing countries are unable to manage the faecal sludge. The Faecal sludge is disposed in open low lying areas or it is used as manure in agricultural field with or without proper treatment. The fecal sludge is used in wet/dry form in the agricultural lands to grow the vegetables which come in contact with sewage water. This type growing of vegetables will be responsible for various diseases which resulting in water borne diseases, causing widespread morbidity and mortality. Usage of untreated faecal sludge causes contamination of soil and water bodies and human health. The killing of pathogens before application can reduce the negative impacts on environment and on human health. In present study co-composted of faecal sludge with solid organic waste is carried to recovery valuable nutrient from faecal sludge in Devanahalli suburban area. The feasibility of fecal sludge and/or market waste composting into fortifier in Devanahalli was studied. The study indicates that the fecal sludge can be utilized as manure without health effect for cultivation of crops. Keywords: Feca1 Sludge, Fertilizer, Onsite Sanitation, Co- Composting, --------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION As many of the developing countries are moving towards increased sanitation coverage, the issue of safe handling of sludge has gained more attention of researchers. In cities where most households practice on-site sanitation, the emptying septic of tanks or pits, and transport of sludge to a safe dumping site for treatment becomes an emerging need. The fecal sludge management (FSM) reduction helps in protecting public health and environment In the town of Devanahalli where the underground sanitation system doesn‟t exist, the fecal sludge which is being generated is being dumped at various open fields. This practice poses a great threat to human health. Hence it is very much necessary to dispose this faecal sludge being generated in a scientific and sustainable way. This is being achieved by setting up the faecal sludge treatment plant. The final product of this treatment plant is planned to be reused as soil conditioner for the nearby agricultural fields. The treated faecal sludge which is obtained from the drying bed of the faecal sludge treatment plant at Devanahalli consists of Pathogens (Helminthes Eggs) which is not desirable for the application of faecal sludge to the agricultural field. In order to eliminate this, co-composting of the faecal sludge with organic municipal solid waste is adopted. This treated faecal sludge is thereby planned to be given to the farmers in order to reuse this as manure. So, it is very much necessary to know if the nearby farmers are ready to use this treated sludge as manure. Hence this study is carried out to assess the usage of treated faecal sludge by the farmers for agriculture. 1.1 Faecal Sludge Management In India End Quantity of faecal sludge produced in India is about 0.12 million tons/day from open defection and from onsite sanitation. The Government of India‟s goal is for all cities to have networked sewerage connections, which would send fecal sludge to a central location for treatment and disposal. Presently, 95% of towns do not have this infrastructure. This means that septic tanks or pits have to be emptied and moved to a location that will process the fecal sludge. In higher apartment complexes and business centers, there are on-site Faecal Sludge Management solutions; however, it remains a challenge even here where space and options for dumping the treated waste are limited. There is little regulatory power to monitor whether fecal sludge is processed according to environmental and health standards. Most cities in India lack the capacity to regulate treatment and dumping of waste. There is also a lack of approved sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the country to safely and effectively treat fecal sludge, if it is actually collected and able to be sent there. Due to the lack of functioning STPs and adequate enforcement of regulations, untreated fecal sludge is disposed indiscriminately into water bodies, drains, landfills, and vacant lands. In Bhubaneswar, Orissa for example, untreated fecal sludge is often dumped directly into the sea. As with the on-site FSM options, city wide STPs often still have the problem of responsibly dealing with the treated sludge. The faecal sludge is directly reused in Agriculture and Aquaculture because of its nutrient values and Treated Faecal Sludge is reused as a soil additive.