Yamuna pollution: Delhi faces water shortage as high ammonia contamination disrupts supply

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged on Oct 27 that the dangerously high ammonia contamination of the Yamuna River, primarily caused by industrial waste from Haryana, is the main reason for Delhi's acute water deficit.

The national capital's supply is being disrupted as the water treatment facilities (WTPs) at Sonia Vihar and Bhagirathi are struggling to manage the ammonia concentration in the Yamuna's raw water, the party added.

Due to the high ammonia content in the Yamuna, the Delhi Jal Board declared a water scarcity on October 27 in many areas of the national capital until Nov 1.

"The raw water source for Delhi's 110 MGD (million gallons per day) Bhagirathi WTP and 140 MGD Sonia Vihar WTP is the Upper Ganga Canal in Muradnagar, Uttar Pradesh,” it said.

“Due to scheduled annual maintenance across the Upper Ganga Canal by the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department from Oct 12 to 31, the canal was closed from Haridwar on the midnight of Oct 12," it added.

“The WTPs are now dependent on the Yamuna as an alternative source of raw water until October 31,” AAP said.

The vice president of the Delhi Jal Board, Vinay Mishra, expressed concern over the Yamuna's water quality after learning that its ammonia concentration had increased to 0.9 parts per million (ppm), significantly higher than the 0.5 ppm safe threshold for efficient treatment.

According to him, this contamination has led to a 25–30% decrease in water output, which significantly affects the supply to Delhi residents.

Mishra accused the BJP-led Haryana government of ignoring the pollution of the Yamuna due to its political animosity toward AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal.

He claimed that industrial waste being dumped into the river in the neighboring state was a major cause of its pollution and that the Haryana government had become hostile and was disregarding the well-being of Delhi's citizens.

He announced plans for discussions with Haryana officials to address the issue and reassured Delhi residents that the Jal Board was actively seeking alternatives.

"Under Arvind Kejriwal's leadership, we are committed to ensuring clean water for Delhiites," Mishra said, adding that he hoped the WTPs would operate at maximum capacity in the coming days.

The AAP was accused by the BJP of "failing" to ensure a sufficient water supply in the national capital.

"It is regrettable that the Delhi government has failed to guarantee proper water supply for the past several months despite a good monsoon. With the festival season here, water shortages and cuts are increasing," said Praveen Shankar Kapoor, spokesperson for the BJP's Delhi unit.

According to Kapoor, the people of Delhi have been let down by the AAP in two ways: it has not provided operational sewage treatment facilities to prevent wastewater from entering the Yamuna, and it has failed to equip the Sonia Vihar, Chandrawal, Okhla, Dwarka, and other WTPs with the capacity to process ammonia efficiently.