The capital is staring at a grim water situation this summer. The city government had been banking heavily on the Munak canal for supply of an additional 80 million gallons per day (MGD) and had hoped that work on Renuka dam would commence, assuring the city of a fixed supply in the coming years. But both projects have got stuck and officials have started advocating water conservation measures.
Delhi has an installed treatment capacity of 755 MGD through eight water treatment plants. An additional 100 MGD is extracted from the ground. “We have a demand of about 1,080 MGD. There is a shortfall of about 250 MGD. We are also expecting the capital’s population to grow to 230 lakh in the next 10 years. So far, we have not been able to identify any other alternate source of water. Delhi unfortunately is almost entirely dependant on its neighbours for raw water supply,” said a DJB official.
