Water supply hit in some areas of Delhi as pollution in Yamuna rises

Water output at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has reduced by at least 30%, as compared to the 15-20% recorded on Monday, according to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials

Parts of the Capital were without water supply or received low pressure supply for the third day in a row due to the combined impact oflow water levels in the Yamuna River and high levels of ammonia in the raw supply. Water output at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has reduced by at least 30%, as compared to the 15-20% recorded on Monday, according to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials.

Water levels in the river have been dropping since Saturday. Even though Delhi, like other regions, is witnessing a premature rise in temperatures, Yamuna witnesses frequent spells of low water levels during the summer months. (HT Archive)

“Normally, the Wazirabad water treatment plant supplies 134.5MGD (million gallons per day) to its catchment areas but production is running at 83 MGD,” said the water production report issued on Tuesday, showing a fall of

DJB had said on Sunday that water supply might be affected in Delhi gate, Subhash Park, Model Town, Gulabi Bagh, Punjabi Bagh, Jahangirpuri, Moolchand, South extension, Greater Kailash, Majnu ka Tila, CGO Complex, LNJP Hospital, Timarpur, Azadpur, Shalimar Bagh, Wazirpur, Burari and adjoining areas.

As on Tuesday evening, water level at the Wazirabad barrage, which majorly serves parts of north, south and central Delhi, was 671.8 feet against the normal levels of 674.5 feet, 2.7 feet below normal, said Delhi Jal Board officials.

Water levels in the river have been dropping since Saturday. Even though Delhi, like other regions, is witnessing a premature rise in temperatures, Yamuna witnesses frequent spells of low water levels during the summer months.

Moreover, ammonia levels recorded at Wazirabad barrage were at the 3ppm level -- more than 2ppm above the maximum limit that can be treated by the Wazirabad water utility.

DJB’s plants can treat up to 1ppm levels of ammonia in raw water through chlorine, but chlorination beyond this limit leads to production of toxic chloramine compounds. “We try to divert water from other sources to dilute the raw water to keep the operations running. Ozonation plants are also being set up to increase the treatment capacity to 4ppm, which will help us to deal with a majority of such disruptions,” said another DJB official, asking not to be named.

Over the past several years, Delhi has blamed neighbouring Haryana for releasing untreated industrial pollutants in the river along the Panipat industrial area, but the Haryana government has denied this charge. (Comment from Haryana official sought).

The water supply problem, DJB officials said, is presently restricted to the Wazirabad water utility. However, if the crisis continues, water treatment plants at Chandrawal and Okhla may be hit next, a DJB official said.

MP Singh, a resident of south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh, said water supply has been impacted in the Vijay Park area in Najafgarh. “We have not got a drop of water for the past 24 hours. DJB should at least ensure water supply,” Singh said.

Rohit Tomar, a resident of north-east Delhi’s Bhajanpura, said their neighbourhood has not been got water supply since February 26. “The helpline numbers and emergency numbers are not working. Can we just be told when this problem will resolve?” Tomar asked.

Sourav Thakur, a resident of south-west Delhi’s Mahavir Enclave, said block C in his neighbourhood has not got water for more than two days.

Of the total 995 MGD of Delhi’s daily water supply, over 230 MGD is supplied by Chandrawal and Wazirabad plants, both of which draw water from Wazirabad barrage. DJB operates nine water treatment plants across the Capital.

In January 2022, HT had reported that according to the data from the Wazirabad water quality monitoring laboratory, the city witnessed 22 ammonia spike episodes over 134 days in 2021 when ammonia levels went above the 1ppm level.

Atul Goel, who heads united resident welfare associations joint action, a collective body of resident welfare associations, said, “These issues resurface every year. Why has DJB been unable to create a buffer reservoir as a backup for emergency situations? They have also been talking about raising their ammonia treatment capacity for several years but nothing has happened. We are not even able to use the water that we have.”