The DJB is working on a plan for laying an 11-kilometre pipeline to address the occasional disruption of water supply in Delhi due to a rise in the Yamuna's ammonia levels.
According to officials, work on details and cost estimates of the project, estimated to cost Rs 300 crore, is underway. The proposed pipeline will stretch from the Haiderpur water treatment plan (WTP) to the Waziarabad barrage.
Water Minister and Delhi Jal Board (DJB) Chairman Parvesh Verma said in the assembly that various steps had been taken by the BJP government to ensure proper supply of clean water.
The DJB is working to address the issue of ammonia levels in the Yamuna, which carries a share of Delhi's water from Haryana via the Wazirabad barrage, he added.
The pipeline is planned to supply raw water, if required, to reduce ammonia levels in the Wazirabad pond. This will also help in situations when it is required to completely avoid drawing raw water from Wazirabad, a senior DJB official said. "According to the plan, a 2,400-millimetre diameter pipeline will be laid from the DJB's Haiderpur WTP, which gets its raw water from the carrier line channel (CLC), also known as Munak canal, that runs from Karnal in Haryana to Haiderpur. This line provides around 680 cusecs of raw water to several other WTPs," he said. The project is aimed at addressing ammonia levels in the Yamuna impacting production at the Wazirabad and the Chandrawal WTPs. The proposed project will be under the Centre's Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. It is likely to be completed in two years, the officials said.
The Delhi government has struggled with disruptions in drinking water supply due to higher ammonia levels in the Yamuna.
The existing WTPs can treat ammonia up to 1 ppm. Anything beyond that affects the plants' working, leading to reduced treatment capacity. In cases of extreme ammonia levels, the plants are forced to be shut down, the officials said.
Untreated sewage and industrial effluent discharged in the Yamuna from untapped drains cause ammonia levels to fluctuate, the senior DJB official said.
