The near-record depletion of the Yamuna River has prompted two of the capital’s largest treatment plants to reduce capacity and has left water supplies scarce to parts of north, central and west Delhi this summer.
Levels in the Wazirabad pond — the reservoir that serves the Wazirabad and Chandrawal water treatment plants — fell to 668.6 feet (above sea level) last week, about five feet below the operating threshold of 674.5 feet.
The recent shortages are due to the summer heat, but Delhi has long suffered from a chronic mismatch between the city’s water supply infrastructure and growing demand.
How does Delhi source its water?
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) operates nine water treatment plants that draw raw water from three sources: the Yamuna River, which is supplied through Haryana; The Ganges River through Uttar Pradesh via the Upper Ganges Canal; and the Bhakra Nangal system across Punjab.
Nearly 40% of the city’s raw water comes from Yamuna via Haryana.
The Yamuna River enters Delhi at the Wazirabad Dam, where the pond serves as a reservoir through which raw water is transported to the Wazirabad and Chanderwal water treatment plants. Low river levels at this point directly restrict supply for both plants.
The water intake stations of the Ganga canal system – Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi – are operating as usual.
Read also: Shah asks Delhi and Haryana to ensure environmental flow in Yamuna
Supply and demand gap
Even at full production, Delhi’s water supply falls far short of its needs. The city, with a population of 2.3 crore, needs, on an average, 1,380 million gallons of water per day. It gets 1,000 million gallons a day, according to DJB data.
Of the total supply, the Wazirabad plant supplies about 110 MGD and Chandrawal about 90 MGD — accounting for about a fifth of the total.
shortage now
The pond at Wazirabad checkpoint has to be maintained at an altitude of 674.5 feet above sea level for the two water treatment plants to operate at full capacity. The drop to 668 feet sharply limits the volume of raw water that can be diverted to treatment facilities.
This month, according to DJB officials, water levels at the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant dropped by 30-40%, and the Chandrawal Water Treatment Plant dropped by 15-20%.
Residents of affected colonies reported that they had not received water for several days or received unusable supplies, with demand for water tankers exceeding availability. Parts of Rani Khera, Begumpur, West Patel Nagar, Rajender Nagar, Subhash Nagar, Siwak Park (Dwarka More) and Patel Nagar are among the worst affected areas.
What is being done to avoid the crisis?
Last week, two excavators were deployed to excavate the river bed, so that water can be directed towards the uptake point of water treatment plants.
DJB officials told HT that raw water from Munak Canal has been diverted through Hyderpur Canal to supplement the intake of Wazirabad WTP station as well.
After talks between the two governments, Haryana also agreed to release additional Yamuna water to Delhi.
Read also: In Wazirabad, the Yamuna River flows so low that “even children can cross it.”
Recurring crisis
The recurrence of the crisis every summer indicates long-term problems facing the country’s capital.
Delhi’s dependence on Haryana for nearly 40% of the raw water extracted from the Yamuna makes supplies directly vulnerable to upstream flow conditions and interstate disputes. Any decrease in release leads to immediate deficit downstream in Wazirabad.
Experts also pointed out the carrying capacity of the Yamuna Port, which has deteriorated over the decades. The 22-km stretch of the river through Delhi, between the Wazirabad and Okhla barrages, has fallen, accumulating silt, encroaching floodplains, and silting up the ghats and riverbeds.
According to DJB officials, the river water near Wazirabad was last removed in 2013. Also at that time, the National Green Tribunal stopped the process due to concerns over sand mining. A shallow river bed holds less water and drains faster under low flow conditions.
The supply-demand deficit is not a seasonal anomaly either, as a summer heatwave increases per capita demand precisely at the point where river levels are lowest.
Until upstream flow is secured and the river’s carrying capacity is restored, the Wazirabad Barrage will remain the point at which Delhi’s water problem becomes visible – every year, on schedule.
