KARACHI: Officials fromthe Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) have assured the Supreme Court (SC) the three closed treatment plants will soon be opened. Since 1992, the SC on five occasionsdirected KWSB to streamline the functioning of itsplants to save the Arabian Sea from pollution. KWSB officials informed the SC that the rehabilitation and upgradingwork on the closed plants would start soon after the release. KWSB officials also informed the court regarding encroachments on its land and about the steps being taken to clear these. Meanwhile, officials from the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) informed the SC that treatment plant II is situated in a the heavily populated area, therefore it would be not suitable for the environment asitwill emit highly toxic substances. SEPA has also informed the court that industrial waste from seven industrial zones is being discharged into the sea, which has been polluting the water and atmosphere. The closed Haroonabad treatment plant, SITE was constructed in 1964 with a capacity of 20 million gallons per day (MGD). The Mehmoodabad treatment plant was constructed in 1964 with a treating capacity of 20 MGD and it was leased out by KWSB to the city government in 2009. The Mauripur plant was built in 1998 with a capacity of 54 MGD. In addition to these plants, there is a plan to build acombined effluent treatment plant (CETP-IV) at Korangi Creek with a capacity to 6 MGDtannery effluents. Karachi is being supplied with around 650MGD and is resultantlyproducing more than 450MGD sewage, which includes municipal, hospital, and industrial liquid waste. The ecology of the coastal areas is worsening day by day, because more than 500MGD of untreated sewage, both municipal and industrial, is being released into the sea.