Chandrawal WTP likely operational by monsoon end; supply to start by Sept-Oct, says DJB

Delhi's new Chandrawal water treatment plant, with a capacity of 105MGD, aims to be operational by September after delays, benefiting 2.2 million residents.

After years of delays and disruptions in water supply owing to ageing and outdated treatment infrastructure, the new Chandrawal water treatment plant (WTP) is likely to become fully operational by the end of the monsoon this year, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials said on Monday.

Chandrawal WTP likely operational by monsoon end; supply to start by Sept-Oct, says DJB

The new 105MGD (million gallons per day) plant will cater to around 2.2 million consumers or roughly about 11% of Delhi’s total population, in north and central Delhi. It supplies water to parts of Old Delhi, Sadar Bazar, Paharganj, parts of Karol Bagh, Malkaganj, Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Naraina and Palam Vihar, among other areas. The new plant has been constructed at a cost of ₹599 crore to supplant the ageing units that were set up in 1935 and 1955, respectively.

Officials said flushing and water testing at the plant will take about three months, and the exercise will commence in July with the arrival of the monsoon, when additional water will be available in the Wazirabad barrage holding area.

“The existing units have a combined capacity of 90MGD while the new plant has a capacity of 105MGD. The plant will also have enhanced facilities to treat pollutants and tackle ammonia spikes,” a DJB official said, requesting anonymity.

“Water from this plant is expected to start reaching consumer homes from September or October this year. The old Chandrawal water treatment plant has two units, one of which is over 90 years old and the other about 70 years old. Both these units are extremely outdated,” the official quoted above said, while detailing the operationalisation plan.

Delhi Jal Board operates nine water treatment plants at Chandrawal, Wazirabad, Haiderpur, Okhla, Nangloi, Bawana, Dwarka, Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi. The Chandrawal facility, which started in 1935, is Delhi’s oldest water treatment plant. Its second unit, installed in 1955, produces 55MGD of water. The last WTP to open in the capital was the 50MGD facility in Dwarka, commissioned in 2015.

“Both units at Chandrawal are so old and outdated that technical faults occur regularly, completely halting water production and leaving residents of Old Delhi without supply. Consequently, a plan to build a new water treatment plant at Chandrawal was approved in 2019,” a second official said.

The plant was initially scheduled to be commissioned in April 2023; however, it faced multiple delays and is now finally ready to begin trials by July, said the official.

DJB officials said most of the civil work has been completed, but sourcing additional raw water for the plant remains a challenge.

“The old plant’s Yamuna water comes from Wazirabad. Approximately 90-100MGD of Yamuna water comes from the Wazirabad reservoir, which is treated and then supplied to residents. The monsoon season has been chosen for trials so that 1% of the water supplied to the old plant will be used for flushing the new machines during the trial period to clear impurities. Once the water is completely clean and free of impurities, samples will be collected for lab tests to ascertain quality. After 15 days of continuous testing and approval, the water will be supplied to the millions of residents across north and central Delhi,” the official said.

Currently, the new plant is being interconnected with the old units so that water coming into the old plant can be diverted to the new plant.