Ammonia up in Yamuna, may hit water supply in parts of Delhi

NEW DELHI: The level of ammonia in the Yamuna river has been increasing since Sunday evening. This may affect the production at the Wazirabad water treatment plant and consequently water supply in several areas of central and south Delhi. This is the fifth such episode this year when the pollution in the river has increased.

Officials said that efforts were being made to dilute the polluted water and manage the problem. "The Wazirabad plant is producing water at its full capacity at present, and the ammonia levels are within treatable limits," said a senior official in the quality control wing of Delhi Jal Board.

According to DJB sources, the water supply may be affected if the situation does not improve by Monday night. The pollution level was near 2 ppm during daytime on Monday, which is above the treatment threshold of existing water treatment plants. The current design of Delhi's water treatment plants is unable to treat raw water having more than 1-0.95 ppm ammonia.

This year, the ammonia spikes were earlier witnessed in Jan, Feb, Oct and Nov. tnn