45,000 water contamination complaints in Delhi: Govt links them to illegal plumber-installed house connections

After Indore witnessed over 20 deaths due to alleged water contamination, Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh had directed the the DJB to take immediate measures — such as regular inspection of all water supply pipelines, particularly in areas where drinking water lines run in proximity to sewer lines; and detecting and repair any leaks or damages — to avoid any possible contamination of drinking water supply in the Capital.

He also told the Assembly during the four-day Winter Session that nearly 50% of the city’s drinking water pipelines, spread over an area of around 7,900 km, are 20 to 30-years old, and it would take seven to eight years to completely replace them. He said that the government is planning a comprehensive revamp of the entire drinking water network in Delhi.

Following directions from the Minister, DJB CEO Kaushal Raj Sharma had issued a slew of directions and asked the engineers concerned to address complaints received so far within two days.

What causes contamination

One of the top causes for contaminations of drinking water is said to be ageing infrastructure, said the officials. “Leaking or tampered house service connections lead to water contamination.We noticed that people in several areas illegally connect their connections with DJB network through local plumber, which is the root cause for contamination and water wastages,” said an official.

Many people, the DJB found, use booster pumps at their homes during non-supply hours, which causes infiltration of polluted water through faulty consumer connections.

“Such factors can allow polluted ground water from overflowing stormwater drains or sewage lines at the level of water pipelines to enter the drinking water network, particularly in vulnerable localities and therefore vulnerable localities are identified pro-actively, to prevent contamination possibilities,” the official added.

Officials said that in order to prevent contamination, the DJB has since last April started massive sewer lines desilting activity to prevent sewer blockages. It has also started manhole repairs to prevent outflow of sewage and sewer line replacement have also been undertaken in various zones of the Capital.

“166 Desilter machines, 25 Large (8000L), 62 Medium (4000L) and 76 small (1500 L) Jetting-cum-suction machines, 7 Super-sucker machines and 189 numbers of DICCI (small sewer cleaning machines) have been deployed for desilting/removal of the sewer line blockages,” said an official.

Steps underway

Water Line replacements and new lines are also being laid on priority as per requirement to avoid contamination issues, said officials.

DJB has asked the engineers to promptly check the household water connections and see through the issue till the end. They have also been directed to collect the water samples extensively in areas facing issues, public premises like schools, and hospitals. “All Superintendent Engineers of divisions have also been asked to coordinate with the Directorate of Treatment and Quality Control branch for sampling in their areas and update the daily data of water contamination problems and their resolution, so that it can be monitored closely and avoid type of incidents,” said an official.

DJB lifts about 1,700 water samples daily from source to tap that includes reservoirs, tube wells, water tankers, public hydrants, distribution network, households, complaints, water emergencies, hospitals, schools, Anganwadies, public hydrants, among others, said officials. “DJB is also taking other initiatives to ensure safe water supply to the people…To effectively address the contamination risk, it is also strengthening its resources further for implementing technical strategy such as replacing old, corroded and leak-prone pipelines, regular flushing, chlorination and field water-quality checks, increasing the lab and mobile water testing vans, cleaning of trunk and peripheral sewer lines efficiently is being ensured to get maximum possible time,” said a senior official.

What data reveals

Overall Resolution: 98.7%

9,308 Largest number of complaints from Circle-1 Trans-Yamuna Area

5,305 complaints received from Circle-2 (Gandhi Nagar, Shahdara, Rohtash Nagar, Babar Pur, Selampur, Ghonda)

7,141 complaints received from Circle-8 (Sultan Puri, Mangol Puri, Nagloi Jat, Vikaspuri, Kirari, Mundka)

3,916 complaints received from Circle-9 (Rajouri Garden, Hari Nagar,Tilak Nagar, Janak Puri, Dwarka Uttam Nagar)

*A circle is an administrative engineering zone