Kerala generates about 596 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage in urban areas as of January 2026, according to the estimates by the Local Self-Government department (LSGD).
The State has set up sewage treatment plant (STP) projects for the treatment of 435.83 MLD. The remaining urban sewage of 596.17 MLD is currently treated through various onsite facilities such as septic tanks and bio-digestors, pointed out a report furnished by the Secretary, LSGD, before the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on February 13, 2026 in the case pertaining to the compliance of norms relate to solid and liquid waste management.
Kerala has a sewage treatment capacity gap of around 11 million litres per day
As per the projected population of 2026, the total liquid waste generated in Kerala is 4,043 MLD (1,032 MLD from urban areas and 3,011 MLD from rural areas). The total capacity of STPs currently existing is 247.08 MLD, including centralised and decentralised STPs at various establishments. According to the previous report submitted before the NGT last year (2025), the then existing capacity was 241.035 MLD, which has now been increased to 247.08 MLD. STPs with a capacity of 15.30 MLD are under construction, while STPs with a capacity 173.45 MLD have been proposed and are currently under various stages of implementation, the report said.
