The percentage of the nation's sewage that is treated rose to 40.7 percent in April, or the equivalent of 2.34 million households across the nation, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said in a statement yesterday.
“According to the latest statistics collected by the Ministry of the Interior, the sewage treatment rate from January to the end of April rose by 1.2 percent to 40.7 percent,” the statement said, with coverage expected to have increased to around 41 percent last month.
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater through sewage processing facilities.
The DGBAS said the system covered 2.34 million households in April, with 1.04 million households connected to public underground sewer systems.
“Sewer systems that treat wastewater exclusively for industrial ar eas and communities of more than 100 residents cover another 729,000 households,” it said.
“Following completion of a sewer system, the government will check the facility regularly to ensure it works normally,” the statistics bureau said.
From January to April, the Environmental Protection Administration found that 17 underground sewer systems in the country failed to meet established standards.
“As for systems of industrial wastewater treatment, 715 facilities were found to be below par during the same period,” the statement said.
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