Making treatment plants work: The power of practical SOPs
India’s sanitation journey has seen a significant transformation in recent years. With the first phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) focused on expanding access to toilets, the second phase is now shifting attention to ensuring the safe management of faecal sludge and septage (FSS) — an often overlooked yet critical aspect of urban sanitation.
Over 60 per cent of urban India relies on on-site sanitation systems such as septic tanks and pit latrines. Without adequate systems for collection, treatment and disposal of faecal sludge, the risk of environmental pollution and public health hazards persists.
Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, has emerged as a leader in embracing decentralised and inclusive faecal sludge and septage management (FSSM).
With support from Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), the state has initiated the establishment of faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTP) and co-treatment facilities in over 59 towns.
This marks a major shift toward sustainable sanitation infrastructure. However, as the facilities become operational, a new challenge has emerged — how to ensure its optimal functioning, efficiency and sustainability over the long term.
That’s where standard operating procedures (SOP) come in. SOPs are critical to moving “beyond construction” and into the phase of proper operation, maintenance and performance monitoring.
CSE’s SOP, on the request of the Department of Urban Development, Uttar Pradesh, details steps for operations and maintenance (O&M) of FSTPs and co-treatment plants in the state.
It serves as a practical manual for plant operators, engineers and urban local body officials responsible for managing the treatment facilities. It was conceived as a response to recurring challenges faced by the towns — underperformance of plants, inconsistent treatment quality, unsafe handling of sludge and lack of standard protocols. By setting out clear, actionable guidelines, the SOP aims to foster a culture of preventive maintenance and operational efficiency.
One of the major strengths of the SOP is its adaptability. Uttar Pradesh's FSSM infrastructure encompasses a wide variety of treatment technologies and system configurations. These include unplanted and planted drying beds, anaerobic baffled reactors (ABR), DEWATS systems, upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors, centrifuges, screw presses and more. These systems are often hybrid in nature, combining nature-based and electromechanical components.
The SOP addresses this diversity by offering detailed O&M guidance across treatment stages — primary, secondary, tertiary and sludge processing and management.
The document is structured to help users understand and execute key operational tasks such as start-up and shutdown procedures, daily / weekly / monthly maintenance schedules, cleaning protocols, monitoring of inflows and outflows, and emergency handling. Importantly, it also includes performance benchmarks, visual cues for system anomalies and safety instructions, including personal protective equipment usage and occupational health best practices.
In addition to its technical rigour, the SOP stands out for its accessibility. It has been published in both English and Hindi, ensuring that municipal staff and ground-level operators can easily refer to it. This makes it not just a manual, but also a training resource for capacity-building across the urban sanitation ecosystem.
Whether in a small town with a basic ABR system or a larger city running a co-treatment plant alongside a sewage treatment facility, the SOP ensures that the core principles of good O&M remain consistent and implementable.
CSE’s broader support to the state of UP has been instrumental in this rollout of FSSM. Through technical handholding, field-level monitoring, lab-based evaluations and institutional strengthening, CSE has helped the state adopt a decentralied, sustainable and inclusive approach to sanitation.
Their work has also highlighted the need for O&M to be treated as a central pillar of urban sanitation strategy, rather than an afterthought following construction.
Through field studies and lab testing of faecal sludge treatment plant performance in UP, major gaps in the current operations were identified. These included frequent mechanical breakdowns, lack of routine inspections, improper desludging intervals and inadequate documentation.
The SOP was designed to plug these gaps and standardise procedures across facilities. It helps ensure compliance with environmental norms, minimise public health risks and optimise the reuse potential of treated outputs — be it in the form of bio solids or treated wastewater.
Resource with global relevance
The significance of the SOP extends far beyond Uttar Pradesh. Its structure, content and modular format make it highly relevant for national and global replication, especially in African and Asian contexts where FSSM systems are either emerging or newly operational.
As governments, donor agencies and development partners invest in faecal sludge treatment infrastructure, there is a growing demand for reliable O&M frameworks. This SOP, backed by field-tested insights and practical recommendations, can serve as a ready reference for countries embarking on their own sanitation journeys.
Another standout feature of the SOP is the detailed emphasis on sludge management units — a critical but often neglected aspect of treatment systems. The document includes step-by-step instructions on operating and maintaining drying beds, mechanical dewatering systems, sludge conveyance channels and storage areas. It also offers troubleshooting tips for common issues like clogging, odour generation and uneven sludge drying.
In addition, emergency response procedures are well defined — whether it’s managing overflow situations, electrical failures or safety incidents. The SOP provides clear instructions on how to act during plant upsets, what checklists to follow and how to resume operations safely. This not only protects infrastructure investments but also safeguards workers and surrounding communities.
The SOP also reinforces the importance of performance monitoring. By defining simple metrics that can be tracked by ULBs and operators — such as inflow volumes, sludge drying rates, BOD / COD reduction levels and frequency of equipment maintenance — it promotes a culture of data-driven management. These indicators can also be used for third-party audits and state-level reporting.
Supporting governance, policy integration
Moreover, the SOP is well-aligned with broader urban sanitation objectives. It supports integration with city sanitation plans, facilitates private sector engagement through clear roles and responsibilities, and helps in optimising resource recovery pathways.
It thus functions not just as an O&M manual, but as a strategic tool for improving city-level sanitation governance. From a policy perspective, the SOP strengthens institutional capacity by laying out who is responsible for what.
It clearly defines the roles of municipal engineers, operators, supervisors and service providers. This clarity improves accountability and creates a basis for performance-linked contracts or service-level agreements, which are essential for scaling FSSM services sustainably.
In conclusion, the SOP for the operations and maintenance of FSTPs and co-treatment facilities in Uttar Pradesh is more than just a document — it is a milestone in India’s FSSM landscape. It embodies the shift from infrastructure-led to service delivery-oriented sanitation planning. It offers a bridge between technology and usability, between planning and performance.
For any city or country looking to strengthen its sanitation ecosystem, this SOP offers a powerful head start. It brings together years of ground experience, technical expertise and institutional insight into a concise, practical and scalable guide.
As India and the world move towards achieving United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation, tools like this SOP will be essential in translating targets into results.