Govt plan to mix treated sewage with Yamuna water risky, warn activists
NEW DELHI: City-based activists have raised concerns about the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) proposal to produce potable water from sewage treatment plants (STPS) after mixing the treated water with Yamuna water .
Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan convener Manoj Misra has written to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also DJB chairman, saying the plan might prove counterproductive.
Other experts have also voiced concerns.
“While on paper such a scheme appears sound; in reality it might be hugely risky and counterproductive, and should not be implemented without rigorous background research and transparent public consultations,” Misra wrote.
Kejriwal had recently announced a scheme to release treated sewage water from two STPS 11km upstream of Wazirabad. The water will reach Wazirabad, from where it will be again sent to treatment plants before being supplied to the city.
“This is where the problem lies. The water we lift from Wazirabad is totally clean. The DJB treats this clean water to be supplied to Delhi. Most of the pollutants Delhi adds to the Yamuna through its drains are downstream of Wazirabad. But now, the government is planning to add STP water north of Wazirabad. This will compromise the water’s quality,” Misra said.
Dinesh Mohaniya, the DJB’S vice-chairman, said: “We are already lifting water from the Yamuna and treating it before it is supplied to the city. The water we plan to release into the Yamuna will be treated as well. Cities like Agra, which are downstream of Delhi, treat polluted Yamuna water and supply it to citizens.”
Misra said in the 1950s, there was an outbreak of infectious hepatitis after polluted water from the Najafgarh drain mixed with river water at the Wazirabad water works. More than 3,700 people fell ill and 70 died in 1955-56.
“Only 12 of the 41 STPS are working as per norms. With such a track record, how is the government confident about mixing water from STPS with drinking water resources?” Misra said.
“It is not right to compare the present scenario with the 1950s, as technology has advanced,” Mohaniya countered.
Vikram Soni, emeritus professor of physics and ecological wisdom at Jamia Millia Islamia and JNU, said: “This seems to be an ill-considered and unfounded project.”
The DJB said a consultant would be hired to find out if the project is feasible.
The DJB’S project is in line with Singapore’s Newater. But Newater, despite being ultraclean, is used mainly for industrial and air cooling purposes at wafer fabrication plants, industrial estates and commercial buildings. “You are treating water at an STP and releasing it in the Yamuna, which has almost become like a drain. The entire effort at the STP goes to waste as the treated water, when it mixes with polluted river water, will become polluted again,” said SK Singh, head of the environmental engineering department at DTU.