Water supply to be affected in parts of Delhi for a week starting from Saturday evening

The Upper Ganga Canal, which begins from Muradnagar in Uttar Pradesh, supplies about 240 million gallons per day (MGD) of water to Delhi — accounting for more than a quarter of the capital’s potable water sources.

A DJB official said, “The reason behind reduction in water availability in the canal, as informed by UP authorities, is that there has been less rainfall and melting of snow this past year, which has decreased the water level in the Ganga.”

Against the normal supply of about 240 MGD from the canal, Delhi was receiving about 200 MGD on Saturday morning.

The DJB said in a statement that production at two water treatment plants that rely on the Ganga canal — Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi — has been affected by 25%-30% due to low water availability.

Officials said authorities in the neighbouring state are making efforts to restore the normal flow in the canal, however, water levels are expected to fluctuate over the next few days.

The areas that will likely see water supply affected over the next few days include Babarpur, Dilshad Garden, Shahdara, Laxmi Nagar, Sarita Vihar, Vasant Kunj, Greater Kailash, Lajpat Nagar, Lodhi Road, Kaka Nagar and other nearby areas, the DJB statement said.

DJB officials said this development comes at a time when water level in the Yamuna is already low and has high concentration of ammonia, which is impacting supply in many other areas of the city.

Against the normal required level of the river of 674.50 ft at the Wazirabad pond, from where water is drawn in for treatment by three DJB plants, the level on Saturday was 669 ft, officials said.

The concentration of ammonia, against the acceptable limit of 0.5ppm and DJB’s treatment capacity of 1ppm, was recorded as 3ppm on Saturday morning at the Wazirabad pond, officials added.

On Wednesday, officials said the ammonia level in the river had reached 8ppm — something which DJB vice-chairman Raghav Chadha claimed was being caused by dumping of untreated waste in the river by Haryana.

Authorities in Haryana, however, have refuted Chadha’s claim and said they are supplying the normal amount of water in the river, as dictated by previous agreements and Supreme Court orders, and pollution of the river is being caused within Delhi.