As water shortage bites, Capital turns to tankers

NEW DELHI: Delhi’s ongoing water crisis is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, said Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials, adding that a real positive change in the supply situation will only happen once the Yamuna level goes above 671 feet, and that would take while yet -- at least till the arrival of the monsoon -- as the present water level at the Wazirabad barrage is 668.1 feet (about one feet of water) as on Thursday. The average supply is being maintained at 920MGD (million galllons daily), a senior DJB official said.

The Yamuna levels had reached a record low on June 8, when it touched 667.5ft, or six inches water from the riverbed, with supply coming down to around 900 MGD. DJB has a peak summer water production target of 998 MGD, which is still 382MGD short of the city’s peak demand of 1,380MGD, said officials.

“A real positive change in supply can only be seen once the Yamuna level is above 671ft. Right now, the supply from CLC (Munak) Canal and DSB Canal to the Haiderpur water treatment facility has stabilised supply somewhat but it seems that the overall supply will normalise only after arrival of monsoon,” the official said, asking not to be named. He also said the response to over half a dozen SOS messages to Haryana has not been positive.

Water from Haryana, via Yamuna and the two canals, constitutes almost 40% of the raw water reaching the city. About 25% water comes from Uttar Pradesh through the Upper Ganga Canal, 22% comes from Bhakra Nangal and the remaining 13% is sourced from subsurface sources such as Ranney wells and tubewells.

Taps running dry in the peak summer months of June and July have over the years become an annual occurrence, though the length and magnitude of the crisis has been increasing every year. Last year, on July 13, the Yamuna level (at the Wazirabad barrage) dipped to 667ft, or the absolute bottom.That was first time since 1965 that the Yamuna had run dry and it set the alarm bells ringing. The level was restored to 674.5ft level on July 16 after more than 16,000 cusecs of water was released by Haryana on the arrival of monsoon.

“Last year’s dry patch lasted for 15-20 days, but this year, it has already been 45 days, and counting. We are again pinning our hopes on the monsoon to alleviate this crisis significantly. Some bit of rain has been predicted for Himachal Pradesh in the next few days and that could improve the supply in about five to seven days,” another DJB official said, asking not to be named.

HT had reported on June 12 that DJB had sent an inspection team to the Dadupur barrage where river Somb, a tributary of the Yamuna, empties into the Yamuna and the team found that the Somb water had been stopped at the barrage, prompting DJB to urge Haryana to release the water.

“Haryana has said the water from Somb will not be released as they want to use the water for their power plants. We are no longer expecting water from this source either,” the official added.

On June 11, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar reiterated that his state is supplying more than 1,049 cusecs of water to Delhi, in accordance with mutual water sharing agreements. “Haryana fills the

Haiderpur barrage and other barrages on time. Even Haryana does not have surplus water,” he said.

Delhi is currently short of 70MGD water based on its average supply levels and each MGD (million gallons of water) translates to supply being deprived from around 22,000 people, another official, overseeing the supply network, said. Various parts of the city are increasingly reliant on water tankers, groundwater and water cans to meet their daily needs.

Yogesh Jain, general secretary of Daryaganj Federation of RWAs, said the crisis in his area started around May 31. “Thousands of residents in our area are now reliant on 20 litre cans and are sharing water from a few houses that have borewells,” he said.

In the southern part of the city, major (retd) Ranjit Singh, who heads the Defence Colony residents’ welfare association, said the crisis there started almost a week ago. “There is a supply shortage and residents on some lanes also complained of foul smelling supply. But we have been getting tankers on time,” he said.

DJB is currently operating 1,198 water tankers in response to emergency calls by residents. These tankers are also expected to take water to 10,141 fixed supply points every day. Atul Goel, who heads URJA, a collective of RWAs, said the water crisis has become an annual phenomenon and long-term measures are urgently needed. “There should be transparency in tanker management. Tankers cannot replace piped water. Delhi should develop reservoirs at decentralised locations and have a 40-day reserve. We should also remove encroachments from the Yamuna floodplains to harness the river’s maximum recharge potential,” he said.