Just as the summer brings final exams for Delhi University students, the Delhi Jal Board also goes through testing times as water demand peaks and production gets hit by power cuts.
“This season is our exam, it’s what we prepare for the rest of the year,” DJB member (water supply) B.M. Dhaul said on Wednesday.
According to Mr. Dhaul, the DJB is passing with flying colours. “This week we have achieved our peak target and are on course to sustain it,” he said.
The DJB had set the daily supply target at 830-835 million gallons per day (MGD) and as of Tuesday the production had reached 834 MGD. A combination of lower temperatures and uninterrupted power supply this week has led to the DJB’s treated water output reaching the target.
“We have had no power cuts in the last three days so we have been able to touch the peak supply,” Mr. Dhaul said.
He added that a power cut of five minutes disrupts work at treatment plants for hours. “It takes a long time to build up the pressure. Even a short power cut shuts down the hydraulics system and it takes two to three hours to build it back up,” Mr. Dhaul said.
However, the supply is not enough to meet the demand in the summer. The summer demand increases by around 15 MGD, according to DJB spokesperson Sanjam Chima.
“The peak demand is 1,080 MGD, but our resources are limited. We haven’t been able to add more surface water in the last six to seven years,” Mr. Dhaul said.
The DJB official admitted that there was a problem. “It is not that there is inadequate supply, it is the problem of inequitable distribution,” he said.
South Delhi, which is at the tail-end of the supply network, continues to suffer as the DJB has not been able to start the Dwarka plant. The 40 MGD plant is ready but is awaiting raw water supply from the Munak canal, the fate of which is being disputed by the Delhi and Haryana governments.
With the Lok Sabha elections result on Friday, DJB officials are hoping the new government at the Centre can solve the dispute between the States.
