Amid rising Yamuna level, water supply to be hit in Delhi as treatment plants shut

“Water to treatment plant goes from the Wazirabad pond. Now that there is flooding, we have had to shut all three. The plants functioned till 8 am but after that, it was impossible to keep them open,” said Somnath Bharti, Vice-Chairperson, Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

The three water treatment plants can only start 12-15 hours after the water recedes, Bharti added.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited the Wazirabad plant with Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj Thursday morning.

“Water levels [of the Yamuna] gave crossed the 208.6-metre mark. We had never anticipated such a rapid rise in the levels. As of now, three treatment plants are shut,” said Kejriwal.

“Once the water recedes, the pumps will have to be dried before switching them on. This has affected 25 per cent of the supply, which is a lot. The tube wells on the floodplain are also inaccessible… The people of Delhi will suffer for a day or two. We hope to restart the plants as soon as possible,” he added.

Several areas in Delhi were flooded after the water level of the Yamuna continued to rise after water from the Hathnikund Barrage in neighbouring Haryana was released following heavy rainfall.

According to officials, the water level in the Yamuna reached 208.46 metre Thursday morning, crossing the danger mark.