NEW DELHI: Parts of south, east and northeast Delhi, which are in the catchment areas of the Bhagirathi and Sonia Vihar water treatment plants, faced a shortage of water on Friday. A spike in the ammonia levels in the Yamuna water coming from Haryana and stoppage of water in the Upper Ganga canal, which is undergoing annual maintenance, led to a crisis in the city.
However, by Friday evening, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said that both plants had resumed 70% operations and assured that the supply would be normal by Saturday mor ning.
DJB: High ammonia level caused water supply disruption
Water supply to many areas was resumed in the evening. However, residents in Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj, Panchsheel Park and Saket complained that they were yet to get any water. But other areas in south and east Delhi received normal evening water supply.
DJB vice-chairman Raghav Chadha said the two affected plants have a collective capacity of 250 MGD and their closure did have an effect on supply in some areas but now “water production has resumed, and we have been successful in removing the pollutants”. Chadha said the government had also requested Uttar Pradesh for help. “The flow from Upper Ganga Canal was stopped due to annual maintenance and we are in constant talks with the governments of Haryana and UP, seeking their cooperation.”
He pointed out that Delhi is a landlocked city. “The water that we get flows through other states. In such a case, if the level of ammonia increases, we have to shut down our water treatment plants. The supply of water will be restored in all the affected areas of Delhi by Saturday morning.”
The vice-chairman of the Vasant Kunj federation of RWAs, Harjinder Saroha, said that water availability remains a problem for the residents of the area. “Supply was at very low pressure. We had trouble during the morning and evening and tankers had to be called. DJB should make alternative arrangements for such a situation,” he added. Dinesh Khurana from a South Ex RWA said they had informed residents that supply would be affected and were able to manage the situation.
Supply had been restored in areas like Hauz Khas, RK Puram, Vinobapuri, Lajpat Nagar, East of Kailash, CR Park, South Extn and Alaknanda by the evening.
Sanjay Rana, who heads the Greater Kailash-II RWA, said they had received some complaints from residents during the day but water was made available during evening hours at low pressure. BM Bakshi of the New Friends Colony RWA said they too faced a similar situation. Jasbir Chaddha of the East of Kailash RWA, however, said they had normal supply through the day.
Late in the evening, DJB officials said that all pumps had been started in the south Delhi main line and Sonia Vihar had achieved a normal pumping output of 136MGD with ammonia levels being as low as 0.15ppm.
Ammonia level affecting Delhi’s water supply has become an annual affair. DJB blames lax enforcement in the Panipat industrial belt, which releases untreated industrial effluents into the river for the problem. DJB has a capacity to treat up to 0.9ppm of ammonia levels in raw water but neutralisation of ammonia with chlorine gas on a regular basis at such high levels leads to creation of toxic chlorine-based byproducts and should be avoided. Delhi has an installed water supply capacity of 930 MGD out of which more than 375 MGD water is sourced from Yamuna while 240 MGD comes from Ganga.