Delhi water supply takes a hit as Yamuna levels fall amid heat woes

HEaping thomas more wretchedness on new delhi residents already sweltry below a heatwave, the dip in the Yamuna’s water levels has led to reduced water supply, especially in the tail-end areas.Officials from Delhi Jal Board (DJB) – the government agency responsible for the production and distribution of potable drinking water – said the reduction in raw water in the Yamuna has disrupted operations at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants (WTPs).Several residents complained that, unlike previous years, no prior warning or advisory about a low water supply was issued.Wazirabad WTP supplies around 134MGD (million gallons per day) water to parts of north and central Delhi, while Chandrawal WTP produces 98MGD, which is supplied to north, northwest and central Delhi.DJB did not respond to HT’s requests for a comment.Wazirabad barrage and the pondage area act as the primary holding area for raw water received via the Yamuna river channel, and the water level in the pondage should be maintained at 674.5ft (from sea level). Two of DJB’s largest WTPs draw raw water from this area.A senior DJB official, on condition of anonymity, said that, due to a shortage of raw water in the river channel, the levels have fallen below 670 ft. “The water levels in the Yamuna are hovering around 669.8ft. The water supply from Wazirabad is 25% down, while the Chandrawal supply has been decreased by around 10%,” the official said.A second Jal Board official, who did not wish to be named, said that due to depletion of pond level at Wazirabad, city authorities are trying to divert raw water from the Carrier Lined Canal (Munak) towards Wazirabad. “If the water level continues to go down, the water production will be severely impacted. We will have to deploy specialised pumps, along with boats, to suck water from the pondage area,” the official said.Both officials said that the government is in talks with Haryana to release additional water from upstream Hathnikund to prevent the water supply crisis.Delhi’s estimated water demand is 1,250MGD, with the DJB supplying 1,002MGD. The gap widens during the peak summer months (May-July), when demand increases while raw water availability decreases.Delhi gets the majority of its raw water from neighbouring UP, Haryana, and Punjab.Supply cutsOn the ground, the curtailment has translated into supply cuts, especially in central Delhi, which lies at the end of the network, with Patel Nagar J Block, West Patel Nagar, parts of Dwarka, Ambica Vihar Society, Paschim Vihar, Ramesh Enclave, and Sudarshan Park severely hit.Tajender Pal, who lives in Patel Nagar, said local residents are struggling for water.”Ashok Kumar, a Dwarka resident, said: “Golf View Condo in Sector 19B, housing over 1,000 families, has been facing irregular supply for the last week.”Ashok Bhasin, president of the North Delhi Residents Welfare Federation, an umbrella body representing various RWAs, said no advisory has been issued this time to store water.Political slugfestTraining gun at the Delhi government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal posted on X: “Who would have thought that one day the Capital of the country would be in such a state?”Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma responded, “The truth is that in those 11 years (under AAP), no real work was done on water, sewers, and water storage—nothing compared to the hype they created.”