Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has launched a Rs 300-crore infrastructure project under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) to mitigate intermittent water supply disruptions. The plan was recently approved at the DJB board meeting.

The work involves the construction of an 11-km-long pipeline which will connect the Haiderpur Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to the Wazirabad barrage, providing an alternative source of raw water when ammonia concentration in the river surpasses treatable limits. The 2,400-mm diameter pipeline will carry water from the Haiderpur WTP, which receives its supply through the Carrier Line Channel (CLC), also known as the Munak Canal, from Karnal, Haryana. 

The CLC currently delivers about 680 cusecs of raw water to several treatment plants in Delhi. This new conduit aims to reduce dependency on Wazirabad-sourced water and ensure consistent water production from affected treatment facilities like Wazirabad and Chandrawal. 

The project, expected to be completed within two years, comes in response to recent instances of ammonia levels rising as high as five parts per million (ppm) in the Yamuna, whereas the treatment plants are designed to handle water with a maximum of one ppm. To supplement this infrastructure enhancement, desilting efforts are also underway at the Wazirabad facility, aimed at doubling storage capacity within the next one to one-and-a-half months.