Ammonia levels in Yamuna shoot up, may hit drinking water supply in Delhi

The Delhi Jal Board has announced that water supply in parts of Delhi will be affected due to high ammonia levels in the Yamuna River, which has caused up to a 50 percent decrease in production at the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants.

The WTPs at Chandrawal and Wazirabad have the capacity to treat up to 90 MGD and 135 MGD of water, respectively.

Presently, the ammonia level at the Wazirabad pond is at 8 parts per million (PPM), which is higher than the acceptable maximum limit of ammonia in drinking water set by the Bureau of Indian Standards of 0.5 ppm. The Delhi Jal Board currently has the capacity to treat 0.9 ppm.

The DJB has released a statement saying that “due to high levels of pollutants (ammonia more than 8 ppm) being received in the Yamuna at Wazirabad pond, water production has been curtailed by 25 per cent to 50 per cent from WTPs of Wazirabad and Chandrawal. Therefore, water supply will be available at low pressure from Monday evening till the situation improves.”

The areas which will be affected by the water shortage include Civil lines, Hindu Rao Hospital and adjoining areas, Kamla Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Karol Bagh, Pahar Ganj, and NDMC areas, Old and New Rajinder Nagar, Patel Nagar, Baljeet Nagar, Prem Nagar, Inderpuri, Kalkaji, Govindpuri, Tughlakabad, Sangam Vihar, and Ambedkar Nagar.

Additionally, the areas of Prahladpur, Ramleela Ground, Delhi Gate, Subhash Park, Model Town, Gulabi Bagh, Punjabi Bagh, Jahangirpuri, Moolchand, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Burari, and adjoining areas, parts of Cantonment areas, and South Delhi will also be affected. (With inputs from PTI)