Septic tanks made mandatory

LAHORE:

The Punjab Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made septic tanks mandatory for all homes and plazas in housing societies across the province.

The decision aims to protect underground water and reservoirs from sewage contamination, which has been a growing source of waterborne diseases.

According to EPA Director General Imran Hameed Sheikh, housing societies have been directed to adopt a "dual water management" system.

Under this requirement, every house must be equipped with a three-chamber septic tank, while the societies will be obligated to install wastewater treatment plants.

Research cited by the EPA shows that three-chamber septic tanks can remove around 70 per cent of solid waste particles and reduce water pollution by about 40%.

The department has also set size requirements for septic tanks in residential and commercial units.

For a five-marla house, the tank must be six feet long, four feet wide and four feet deep. For a 10-marla house, the size is 9x6x4 feet. For a one-kanal plaza, the requirement is 10x6x5 feet, four-kanal plazas 15x6x5 feet and and for larger units 16x6x5 feet.

DG Sheikh stated that no new housing scheme will be granted environmental approval unless it complies with the tank condition.

Notifications have been issued to all relevant authorities, including the Lahore Development Authority (LDA), Faisalabad (FDA), Gujranwala (GDA) and Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).

The deputy commissioners have also been instructed to strictly enforce the requirement during land subdivision.

The EPA has also communicated the decision to the Judicial Water and Environment Commission and other relevant bodies.

Field officers have been directed to closely monitor the installation of septic tanks in housing schemes to ensure protection of groundwater and the environment.

Explaining the mechanism, Lahore EPA Deputy Director Ali Ijaz said that septic tanks are underground structures, usually built from concrete or bricks, which temporarily store sewage from houses or buildings.

Typically consisting of two or three compartments, these tanks allow wastewater to settle and partially purify. Solid particles sink to the bottom, grease and foam rise to the top, while relatively clear water passes into the next chamber.

In three-chamber models, the process is more effective, reducing pollutants significantly before the water can either flow to a treatment plant or percolate into the ground.

The official stressed that septic tanks are essential to prevent untreated wastewater from seeping directly into the soil, which would contaminate groundwater and spread diseases such as cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. He described the measure as a vital step for both environmental protection and public health.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif said in her message on International Ozone Layer Day that the first comprehensive environmental policy had been devised for the province.

She highlighted that climate change had changed the rainfall patterns and Punjab was suffering its consequences in the form of recent devastating floods.