The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said the ammonia levels of the Yamuna near the Wazirabad pond area had crossed 5 parts per million (ppm) — five times more than the maximum treatable limit of water treatment plants.
The water scarcity faced by north, west and central Delhi residents is likely to worsen after operations at two water treatment plants catering to these areas were affected by very high pollution levels in the Yamuna.
DJB’s plants can treat up to one ppm of ammonia in raw water through chlorination but using the chemical beyond this limit produces toxic compounds. So whenever ammonia levels breach the one ppm mark, operations at water treatment plants are hit.
Of Delhi’s 952 million gallons per day (mgd) average water supply, around 230 mgd is supplied by the Wazirabad and Chandrawal plants, both of which draw water from the Wazirabad pond, which the Yamuna feeds. The pollutants come from Panipat and Sonipat industrial units via DD6 and DD8 drains.
