Delhi Faces Water Crisis: New Plants Idle Amid Shortages

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is planning to request an additional 528 cusecs of raw water as a medium-term strategy to bridge the Capital's growing water deficit. This allocation is crucial for operationalizing four new water treatment plants, including the Dwarka plant's second phase, which is already built but idle due to insufficient raw water.

Three proposed plants at Iradat Nagar, Chhatarpur, and Najafgarh also require this additional raw water to become functional. These new facilities are intended to improve water availability in underserved areas of southwest, northwest, and south Delhi.

However, the city currently faces a daily deficit of approximately 250 MGD, a figure that escalates sharply during peak summer months. This situation is exacerbated by reduced raw water availability from the Yamuna, leading to supply disruptions and incidents of sewage contamination in areas at the "tail end" of the distribution system.

While a temporary improvement in raw water flow has been observed through the Somb river channel, operational challenges like algae accumulation at the Wazirabad pond persist. Delhi's reliance on neighboring states for water allocations means securing additional resources is contingent on agreements with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Long-term solutions, such as the Kishau Dam project on the Tons river, are underway, with India's Home Minister Amit Shah recently chairing a meeting where six states agreed to a memorandum of understanding for its development. Despite the promise of substantial water from projects like Kishau, Giri River, and Lakhwar Dam, these are years away from completion.

Meanwhile, residents across Delhi continue to report receiving foul-smelling and discolored water, attributing contamination to low water pressure in aging pipelines that allows sewage to mix with drinking water supplies. Normalcy is not expected to fully return until after the monsoon season.