Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal’s Post

1. THE PATIENT – DOCTOR RELATIONSHIP 2. THE CLIENT– CONSULTANT RELATIONSHIP Folks : You can see the close kinship between the two scenarios above. 1. A patient with an ailment selects a doctor after due diligence, research and puts his future well being in the hands of the Doctor. A professional relationship, a transaction if you will. And there is a cost attached. The Doctor’s fee. No bargaining here. Only Quacks, charlatans, fraudsters will compromise on their fees. 2. A client with an ailing STP comes to us for succour, we do not rush headlong to perform the surgery. A detailed and diligent diagnostic exercise on the STP is performed equivalent of X Ray, CT Scan, MRI to understand the full extent of the ills the STP suffers from. The equivalent of these medical diagnostic tools is an STP audit focusing on the Technology, the Design, The Engineering and the O&M of the STP. Correct Technology is the solid foundation on which the other three Pillars of a good STP are built. Any deficiency, defect, drawback in any of these four aspects of an STP will determine the extent to which the STP is dysfunctional or outright defunct.  We can now proceed to prescribe a proper, well researched, sustainable solution for the STP to lead a healthy life for decades. This is the ECOTECH 360 DEGREE AUDIT OF THE STP True professionals that we are, every one of our audit exercise receives the same care, diligent fact finding, nuts and bolts detailing, in depth enquiry, brainstorming to arrive at the very Best, Optimal Upgradation scheme. A Precision Surgery on the STP. In this exercise we bring to bear accumulated Knowledge, Expertise gained over 45 years of on the Ground Hands on Experience : > 200 New plants designed, working to perfection > 2200 Plant- Years of Operation & maintenance Experience >70 Precision surgeries performed on Dysfunctional SBR, MBBR, MBR STPs And for our time, our effort in writing out the right prescription and course of Treatment, we charge a professional fee. And in line with our philosophy of public service, this is a just a minimal token amount. Over the years we have learnt that anything given free is not valued. Just in the past two weeks a 550 Flat high end Apt. complex approached us and wanted their dysfunctional STP to be audited.  And another one with about 740 flats . But they would not pay even the nominal fee for our services. The fee charged would be just a pittance of Rs. 55 and Rs. 40 per flat for them. And the STP when made functional would save them a minimum of Rs. 1000 per flat per month in savings in fresh water purchase costs! And the added benefit of Future Water Security ! Protection of the Environment !! I am unable to decide whether it is sheer apathy, abysmal ignorance or utter stupidity of the so called educated classes in India. Folks : tell me if you know The STP remains the most neglected Orphan in these residential complexes Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal ...... May 09, 2024

BROTHER, YOU HAVE COME A LONG WAY ! Folks : While cleaning out the knick-knacks, the doo-dads that collect over the years in the attic of our home, our household help pulled out this faded with age, brown litttle box . Never having seen anything like this before in their lives, extreemly curious to find out what it was, they came to me. This little box took me back almost 40 years. This was the Typewriter my dear father presented to me when I moved from Bombay to Bangalore, to start a whole new career and a whole new chapter in my life. To start a Company called Ecotech, specialising in wastewater Treatment, Recycle, Reuse. My very first customers were ITC, their Cigarette factory in Frazer town. United Breweries, the Brewery on Grant Road, now the swanky UB City ; Grant road rechristened now as Vitttal Mallya Road. Brooke Bond instant coffee factory in Whitefield, now the Unilever Research center campus. Binny Mills in Binnypet, now the Shapoorji Pallonji Township called Park West. And many, many more. And this little Brother was my constant companion from those bygone days. And I recall I would visit all of these factories and sites in my equally trustworthy Vijay Super Scooter. Yes. My Brother has aged just as gracefully as I have. Still retaining the sheen and the shine of yore, ready to belt out quotations, reports and other such worthy and worthwhile documents, just as I do now. This post however is not with a little help from my little Brother. It is a Logitech Keyboard now with the help of a little mouse. I just wonder from which attic I will fish them out from 30 years from now. 😊

MATHA, PITHA, GURU, DEIVAM Folks : Pardon me, indulge me again for a little bit of reminiscing that I do every once in a while in this forum.       At the start of this new Financial year 2024-25, I sent out an impassioned exhortation message to all our 350 + team mates in our Company – Ecotech. It started with an age old Sanskrit phrase that every Indian knows : - Our Company, Ecotech is the Matha, the Mother to all of us  - I can truthfully lay claim to being not Pitha, but a father figure to all of you  - Equally that of a Guru, the mentor teaching you and guiding you all these years  - And above all is the Divine being who showers his blessings on all of us    ………….    And while writing this about our Company, my thoughts naturally turned to my own biological mother, whose portrait occupies a prominent place in my office, her ever smiling visage exhorting me all the time to do my best for Society at large and our Nation. My mother was a very strong willed lady, a strict disciplinarian, never the one hesitating to wield the stick. I owe it to her my strict upbringing, code of ethics, morals drilled into me during my initial 10 years of growing up in Bombay in our Sion home. Force of circumstance, with my father having a transferable job, landed me in Madras under the care of my maternal grandparents and a joint family experience with uncles, aunts, cousins all under one roof in Mylapore. The rest as they say is History. I finished High School from the venerable Madras Christian College School, went on to study Chemical Engg. at IIT Madras and thence to Vanderbilt University in Nashville for my Masters and Phd. Returned to India January 01, 1979, started my career as an Environmental Engineer at Hindustan Dorr Oliver on February 15, 1979. And Here I am 45 years later, exhorting my team mates in Sanskrit, the Mother of all Languages ! And here is the saga of Mrs. Mythili Seshadri, my mother from her younger days through the years and to her last available portrait, constantly watching over and guiding me to give my best in everything I do. Folks : a little aside here. The photo in the middle is that of my foster mother, my aunt in Mylapore with a remarkable family resemblance. Palani Vijayalakshmi was a highly accomplished Carnatic music maestro. And I grew up in the Mylapore home, aptly named Shruti Laya. Music classes in the morning, Music classes in the evening. A pleasant musical interlude between School and evening German classes in faraway Max Mueller Bhavan on Mount Road. And as I reminisce :  An unforgettable vibrant past leading the way to an even more vibrant future. Every new day bringing new challenges, Opportunities to serve, to excel in whatever one is trained to do. A Paean to a labor of love on this the International Labor day. Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                   May 01, 2024

SUSTAINABILITY IS US - ECOTECH KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE – THE HALLMARK OF SUSTAINABILITY                           Folks : I am sure by now all of you know Ecotech – Our Philosophy : Technically perfect, Professionalism to the core, ethically unsurpassed. All in our DNA. And all these qualities are ingrained and exemplified in the work we do. 1. Sustainable STPs in the small scale Decentralised space 2. Excellence and Integrity since 1986 – that is 38+ years of Technical excellence, ethical, professional conduct of business 3. Keeping things simple – Hallmark of sustainability, and this bears repeating - Hallmark of Technical Excellence, Professional and ethical conduct of business. We have several clients of excellent pedigree who will swear by Ecotech – Unilever, GE Companies, ITC, Cisco and many more who have been our clients, associates for over 25-30-35 years and more.  GE the doyen of sustainability, and EHS practices gives us a score of 99 % in our EHS performance. We respect that score. Only 99 % because of the universally acknowledged precept that there is, and there must always be room for improvement, and not to be lulled into a false sense of complacense. https://shorturl.at/abgEX And our standing in this field, head and shoulders above all the rest is because we follow the three simple steps as above 1,2,3. Even when it comes to the challenging task of generating potable quality water from our STPs we follow the simple 1,2,3 Rule. Keep it simple and sustainable with excellence built in. An enlightened community in Bangalore has been drinking our STP + ATP treated water for more than 12 years. And it has been even vetted, verified and validated by our Member of the Legislative Assembly, a highly respected politician with a Masters Degree in Engineering from no less than from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor – The Mecca of higher learning in the USA https://shorturl.at/guyC0 Our Advanced Tertiary Treatment Plant (ATP) just adds a two step process to convert our STP treated water to potable quality. Not for us the fussy, Mumbo Jumbo, Voodoo technologies with Six, Seven or Eight stage treatment route for potability. An eight stage treatment will very obviously mean eight degrees of failure just like in the MBBR STPs. https://shorturl.at/jkt48 Simplicity is the essence of Sophistication. Simplicity is the essence of Excellence the Mantra of Sustainability https://shorturl.at/AMXYZ That is what Ecotech in essence stands for : Sustainability, Simplicity, Excellence Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal                     April 30, 2024

MBBR DECONSTRUCTED ; MBBR DEMOLISHED SCORECARD - EAAS 100 ; MBBR < 50                           Folks : Pardon me for concentrating on demolishing the  scourge, the contagion called SBRitis of pandemic proportions prevalent in the Southern parts of our country. I do believe I have succeeded in this mission in no small measure. Developers and builders who have suffered from SBRitis are now saying enough is enough Strange as it may seem they are falling into the age old trap of “From the Frying Pan into the Fire” https://shorturl.at/nwN56 They are now experimenting with MBBR Technology. MBBRitis is a known disease, scourge, contagion that has been afflicting large parts of our country in the West and in the North for decades Apparently there has been no effort to learn ; To learn from others’ mistakes. No homework, no due Diligence done before plunging headlong into the fire I am now targeting MBBR and MBBRitis to receive the same merciless, ruthless treatment that a good professional doctor would do to banish it once and for all from the Small Scale Decentralised Urban STP scene Here is a set of EIGHT DEGREES OF FAILURE we have seen in MBBRs in India, let me reiterate again, in the small scale. Excellent technology when used in large sized plants being run into the ground by sheer lack of knowledge, lack of understanding of the technology Here is the List of Eight Degrees of Failure of MBBRs in India, highlighted in the sketch 1. No Primary sedimentation stage – Mandatory 2. MBBR Tank size < 50 % of the corresponding EAAS Aeration tank 3. D.O not high enough to build and sustain a good layer of attached growth of microbes 4. Coagulant addition – No coagulant addition. Damned if you do, Damned if you Don’t 5. heavy solids carryover due to incorrect application of Lamella settlers 6. Microbes get attached to Tube / plate in calm, quiescent conditions in the settler 7. Very thin slurry of settled solids in the lamella settler, difficult to dewater 8. And the Grand Daddy of all Blunders ! Recycle sludge from settler – The MORTAL SIN ! And what this MBBR has now become is a pale shadow of, an apology for, poor imitation of, mockery of the Time tested, Proven, Robust, Reliable EAAS STP. All of which now, this MBBR is the exact opposite of And hence also the third line in the Title of this post. : MBBR Score < 50 I have stopped this discourse at the failure mode count at Eight. The ruling planet of Number Eight is Saturn – Shani. Best avoided – Like the Plague MBBRitis truly is And when an MBBR STP is designed by Dumb persons, even the dumbest operator should be able to follow simple instructions and signage Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal ............  April 27, 2024

THREE MUGS OF WATER FOR A BATH - ODETTE KATRAK MY EXPERIMENTS WITH THIS TRUTH : TRY IT YOURSELF !                           Folks : About 6 or 7 years ago I happened to bump into Odette Katrak in what I vaguely recall to be a Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) Do in the Bellandur area of Bangalore to increase awareness of importance of a good STP and attendant benefits.   In a conversation with Odette, this diminutive lady casually mentioned to me that she has her daily bath with just THREE MUGS OF WATER.!  Thorough Gentleman that I am, I managed to suppress my laughter, nodded my head, congratulated her on achieving something HUMANLY impossible and hitherto totally unheard of. A picture of a crow having its frugal bath crossed my mind and soon dismissed Odette to be a crazy lady with a wild imagination.   A few weeks ago, when our city of Bangalore was hit with the worst Water crisis in its more than 1000 years of recorded history, my conversation with Odette Katrak hidden all these years in my subconscious suddenly resurfaced and I simply could not get it out of my mind.   And one morning I steeled myself to try out Dr. Odette’s prescription of Three mugs of water for a bath. And to aid me in this experiment, I did not turn on the geyser for hot water, hoping that the cold water itself would be a good incentive to minimize water usage.    Lo and Behold ! In my very first shot at this seemingly impossible feat, I managed with 6 mugs three quarters full. I never use a full mug of water for anything I do, being mindful of wastage that could occur due to spillage. Now that works out to 4.5 full mugs of water, a full 50 % more than Odette’s record. With time and daily trials, experiments and experience, I have now managed to cut it down to 5 mugs a day. Still unable to match Odette’s record.    And take it from me this is absolutely in no way short of a full, satisfactory bath with all the trimmings – Soap, Shampoo etc.   And on Sundays, I do a little bit of splurging, an uber luxury bath with Six mugs of water. I know all you good folks out there will not grudge me this weekly indulgence.   Thoroughly enthused by this success in bath water conservation, I also put into practice Odette’s next Best Water Conservation practice. I caught the run off water from my bath in another shallow pail kept under my feet. And this water I could use to flush the toilet when needed.   Purists among you will no doubt observe the purple colour coding of the pail signifying recycled water. I am a purist and perfectionist to the core.   Folks ! Now I know you will brand me to be as crazy as Odette.   Yessir ! You could call me that. I am a Wild and Crazy Guy !   https://lnkd.in/grmNq6_Z   Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal        April 23, 2024 P. S : By the way the colourful reflection in the mug is the stained glass skylight atop the bathroom. Energy efficient, and now water efficient Bathroom. Two key sustainability elements for humankind.

THE STP GUIDE – THE GITA, THE BIBLE, THE QURAN ECOTECH EA35+ ATP FOR NIRVANA, MOKSHA, SALVATION Folks : Loads of articles in the print media, palaver in electronic media, posts in social media on how to tackle the current water crisis in Bangalore. I do understand such discourses are necessary to raise the level of awareness to the extremely serious threat the city is facing now. The day is not far off when other cities and towns in India will also face this heat.   Alas ! All of these discussions are in the air, bits and pieces solutions, a band aid here, a band aid there not addressing the root cause that has aggravated and precipitated this situation.   Specifically in the case of Bangalore, if all the Decentralised STPs in private hands were to be made 100 % functional, we will be able to recover and reuse at a minimum more than 300 MLD of water. My arithmetic :   I estimate at a minimum a total of 450 MLD nameplate treatment capacity residing in these STPs.   1. 60 % recovery from STPs in residential complexes of 300 MLD will yield 180 MLD for reuse   2. 80 % recovery from STPs in Commercial complexes of 150 MLD will yield 120 MLD for reuse including for AC cooling water makeup   1 + 2 add up not to 3 but a whopping 300 MLD.   And this figure is just with a good STP following the path of The Bhagavad Gita, The Bible, The Quran   3. Now with an Advanced Treatment Plant (ATP) of Ecotech which is just a no fuss simple two step process, upto 80 % of the balance 150 MLD can be converted to potable quality water. Add 120 MLD   Folks : 120 MLD of potable quality water ! At 10 LPCD, that is more than enough for drinking, cooking for the population of Bangalore.   At Ecotech we like to keep things Simple. Simple to understand, Simple to Execute, Simple to operate and maintain on a sustained long term basis.   https://shorturl.at/AMXYZ   And the costs and economics are extremely favourable.   For a medium sized STP of 500 KLD capacity, the cost to treat to stage 1 (Statutory norms) is approx.25-30 Rs/KL using Ecotech EA35+ technology.to recover for secondary reuse 300 KLD of water.   To this add just Rs. 40-45 Rs/KL to treat the balance 200 KLD in a simple, robust, reliable two step Ecotech ATP and recover 160 KLD of potable quality water.   The achievement is simply phenomenal and mind boggling.   1. Out of the original 550 KLD of total water requirement for this community, we have secured 300 + 160 = 460 KLD from the STP.+ ATP. That is water security upto nearly 85% ! 2. And at a very nominal Rs.120/KL of tanker water cost today, we save Rs. 55,000 per day and net Rs. 45,000 deducting ATP Opex. And this in turn represents a reduction in monthly Common Area Maintenace costs for an 850 flat community of 30 x 45,000 / 850 = 1600 Rs. /month.   Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal      April 16, 2024

EASY LIKE SUNDAY MORNING Folks : I thought I should just repost this article first published in the year 2011. https://shorturl.at/yRSZ8 Light reading and Hilarious on the surface. Read between the lines and you will see the serious consequences of such avarice and greed manifesting in the thousands of Dysfunctional STPs in India. Also one of the prime contributors to the severe water crisis the city of Bangalore is facing today. Go to a professional Company with a long history of excellence, trusted by the most professional corporates in India for over three devcades and you cannot go wrong. Come to Ecotech for your STPs. Happy Tamil New Year, Baisakhi , Vishu, Bihu across India. Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal April 14, 2024

EVERY DROP COUNTS TRUST ECOTECH TO SQUEEZE THE LAST DROP FROM YOUR STP GOOD TO THE LAST DROP Folks : Again this morning I was squeezing out what for the past ten days I was thinking would be the last bit of shaving cream from the tube. I was overjoyed. My scientific temperament tells me that this empirical evidence is enough to keep the tube in business for another few days at least   And I practice this art not just with my shaving cream. Colgate my Tooth paste, Old Spice my after shave, Parachute my hair oil, Liril my favourite soap have given me their all. Good to the last drop.   Coming from a middle class Indian family background these traits are ingrained in me. It is an obsessive Compulsive Disorder – OCD. It is in my DNA.   So Folks : You can now trust me when I say I practice in my professional life all the lessons learnt in my personal life.   I will squeeze every STP under our Tender Loving Care to yield right upto the last drop of excellent quality water it is capable of delivering. That is our Ecotech promise.   Come to Ecotech when you want the best out of your STPs.   Water Security, Huge cost savings, Protection of the Environment, Total Peace of Mind.   And Oh ! of course – Satisfaction of a job well done once again.   Wishing Id Mubarak to all our friends, well wishers, followers.   Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal    …..   April 11, 2024

PROFESSIONAL MALPRACTICE LEGISLATION NEED OF THE HOUR IN INDIA Folks : Just today, by sheer coincidence my good friend Col. Bhaskar Tatwawadi posted a report from the TOI of fatalities in an STP in Virar, Bombay.   https://shorturl.at/ikzAR   I am a vociferous advocate for bringing in a stringent law of Professional Malpractice in India. Not just limited to the medical field, which has finally seen the light of day.   Just to make matters clear the Meaning of Negligence also sometimes called Malpractice as universally understood :   “ Negligence by professionals is a type of tort that occurs when a professional fails to meet the required standards of care and skill in the performance of their duties. It may occur in any profession, including medicine, law, engineering, architecture, accounting, and others. Negligence by professionals may result in financial loss, physical injury, or emotional distress to their clients “.   Architectural or Engineering Malpractice :   An architect or engineer may be liable for malpractice for a failure to use reasonable care in the design, consulting or advising on any building project……   In my capacity as the Subject Matter Expert for Wastewater Management in the Monitoring cell constituted by the KSPCB on the directions of the NGT, I had indeed made a strong recommendation that one such stringent measure to be introduced to stop Proliferation of these Dysfunctional and Killer STPs :   Extract from a White Paper shared with the KSPCB :   ADDITIONAL NOTES INCLUDED ON SEPT. 15, 2019 IN DRAFT SENT TO KSPCB   " 1. Attendance in the proposed awareness and education, training for Consultants / Builders / STP Vendors shall be made obligatory. This will instill a sense of discipline, responsibility and accountability on these stakeholders while Designing and building new STPs. And in the event their STPs fail on account of non adherence to Guidelines prescribed the Board, they may be penalized once, twice in monetary terms as per current norms of the CPCB /NGT. On the third recurrence of faulty STP (Even where only one of the three agencies is involved in the third default) all Agencies involved shall be simply blacklisted and prohibited from conducting business related to STP, based on the universally well recognized principle of Professional Malpractice."   The KSPCB and the NGT are yet to take a call on this sound advice.   Dr. Ananth S Kodavasal    …..   April 10, 2024