Will increase water supply by 15-20% in two years: CM

Says Delhi Jal Board to adopt the ‘Singapore model’ for water treatment

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visits the Coronation Pillar sewage treatment plant in the Capital on Tuesday.

Water supply in the city will increase by 15% to 20% in the next two years and by 50% in the next five years, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Kejriwal said the Delhi Jal Board, which currently supplies 900 million gallons per day (MGD) of water to Delhiites, will increase the supply in the coming years.

“In the past three to four months, I have had many meetings with DJB officials and we have come up with a plan. We will increase the water availability by 15% to 20% in the next two years and by 50% in the five years,” he said.

Inspects STP

Mr. Kejriwal, who took charge as DJB chairperson in September 2017, inspected the site of the under-construction Coronation Pillar sewage treatment plant (STP) on Tuesday. He said phase-I of the project will be completed in June 2019 and 70 MGD of treated water from the Coronation Pillar STP will be sent to Wazirabad through Palla for further treatment and supply. The treated water will then be supplied to homes as potable water.

Phase-II of the project, which will involve supply of 40 MGD of treated water from Rithala STP to Wazirabad, will start in December 2019, he said. Phase-III will start in June 2020, with another 40 MGD of treated water from Rithala STP expected to be supplied to Wazirabad. According to this plan, a total of 150 MGD will be sent to Wazirabad for treatment and supply.

The Chief Minister said the DJB will adopt the “Singapore model” for water treatment. The treated water from STPs will be taken to Palla and then released into the Yamuna. The water then will flow till Wazirabad, where it will be lifted at the Wazirabad water treatment plant (WTP) for a final level of treatment.

Apart from the Coronation Pillar STP, a new 50 MGD WTP at Dwarka will be completed by February 2020 for the treatment of water from Haryana, the government statement said.

In order to increase the amount of recycled treated water from the 36 other STPs apart from Coronation Pillar and Rithala STPs, the DJB had hired a consultant to come up with a plan. Once completed, this could lead to around 200 MGD of recycled water, the statement said, adding that this water goes into the river as of now. In addition, 70 new borewells that will add 15 MGD of water will be made in Palla, the statement said. The DJB has planned to rejuvenate 200 waterbodies that will improve the groundwater levels, the statement added.