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Delhi: Taps run dry as ammonia spike, canal repair cripple water plants
Officials explained that ammonia spikes in the Yamuna are a chronic winter issue, generally occurring between 15 and 22 times a year.
The Capital’s water crisis worsened on Thursday with six of its nine major water treatment plants were rendered either non-functional or operating at a fraction of their capacity. The failure has left swathes of Delhi – particularly in the city’ s north, northwest, west, southwest and central regions – with dry taps and threatens shortages that could extend into early February.
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The crisis stems from two concurrent issues: dangerously high levels of ammonia in the Yamuna have forced two critical plants to halt operations, while simultaneous repair work on the Munak Canal in Haryana has drastically reduced the raw water supply to four other facilities. Only three plants – fed by the Upper Ganga Canal from Uttar Pradesh – currently remain fully operational.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Thursday confirmed the complete shutdown of the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP) -- the city’s largest facility which supplies 110 million gallons per day (MGD) to central, north, south, and New Delhi areas, including the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) zone, Old Delhi, and areas such as Model Town and Defence Colony. The Chandrawal plant was also severely impacted by the polluted river water.
Concurrently, unscheduled maintenance on the Munak canal – a vital conduit from Haryana – has crippled production at the four treatment plants – Haiderpur, Dwarka, Bawana, and Nangloi. DJB stated it received notice from Haryana’s irrigation department on January 19 regarding the canal closure, which is expected to last until February 4. This maintenance period has cut the raw water supply from this source by half, compounding the disaster.
This confluence of failures has created a crippling shortfall in a system that normally supplies approximately 1000 MGD to the city. The affected areas now span north, northwest, west, southwest, and central Delhi.
Even the Lutyens’ Delhi zone has seen its supply cut by 45-50%, according to NDMC officials.
The effects have already started being felt in parts of the city. In north and west Delhi, taps ran dry for a second consecutive day. “Complaints are coming from the entire belt from North Campus to west Delhi. The reserves in overhead tanks are running dry,” said Ashok Bhasin, president of the North Delhi Residents’ Welfare Association.
In upscale localities such as Greater Kailash-2, residents reported extremely low water pressure. “Areas at higher elevation are not getting any water at all under these low-pressure conditions,” said Sanjay Rana, general secretary of the RWA.
NDMC on Thursday listed numerous affected areas under its jurisdiction, including RK Puram, Moti Bagh, Sarojini Nagar, Shivaji Stadium, Panchkuian Road, and parts of Chanakyapuri, among others, warning that evening supplies would also remain disrupted.
A chronic issue
Officials explained that ammonia spikes in the Yamuna are a chronic winter issue, generally occurring between 15 and 22 times a year, typically between December and March as the river’s flow recedes due to lack of rain upstream. The treatment plants are designed to handle ammonia concentrations up to 1 part per million (ppm). Current levels have exceeded 3ppm, rendering the water “untreatable”.
The standard mitigation tactic – diverting cleaner water from the Munak Canal to the Wazirabad pond to dilute the water – has failed this time because the canal itself is under maintenance. Furthermore, a dedicated ammonia treatment plant for the Wazirabad facility, announced in the 2022-23 budget to address this exact vulnerability, has remained a non-starter.
The city draws roughly 40.8% of its supply from the Yamuna and related canals, 26.5% from the Ganga via UP, and 23.1% from Bhakra storage via Haryana.
A DJB official said that the supply from Ganga are being rationalised in an attempt to reduce the impact, but officials familiar with the matter said that the deficit is too large to fully offset.
The Delhi government has written to the Haryana government, requesting an increased release of water from the Hathini Kund barrage to help dilute the ammonia in the Yamuna.
