Artificial lake to come up at Delhi’s Najafgarh

The lake, which covers an area of around 4 acres, now receives treated water from the Pappankalan Phase-II STP through a 4-km-long pipeline. A communication from Water Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj’s office said that the lake began to be filled with treated water a month and a half ago and in that time there has been a rise of 3.24 m in the groundwater level. Bharadwaj visited the lake on Saturday.

Treated water from the Pappankalan Phase-II STP meets the standards for discharge of effluents into sources of water or land disposal, according to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s analysis of samples collected in April this year.

Landscaping around the artificial lake is underway. Once work is complete, treated water from an STP on the premises will be released into the lake.

With these lakes being developed with the intention of improving groundwater levels, piezometers are being installed around the lake to measure its impact on groundwater. To draw this water and improve supply to parts of Dwarka, tubewells will be installed near the lake.

Along similar lines, to improve groundwater recharge, two lakes with a combined area of 11 acres, have already been developed inside the premises of the Pappankalan Phase-II STP.