To prevent a huge shortfall in supply, Haryana will release more water from Wednesday, said Delhi Jal Board officials.

Officials were, however, quick to point out that the water supply in the city is still "normal" despite the dip in the Wazirabad pond level.

"There has been a dip in the supply of raw water from Haryana. The State's water needs have gone up because of the agricultural needs at this time of the year, but Delhi has notified them (Haryana) about the dip in the pond level and they have agreed to do the needful," said an official.

Because of the dip in pond level, the production of water at the Wazirabad water treatment plant has come down from 120 MGD to 93 MGD. Water production at the 90-MGD Chandrawal water treatment plant too has decreased by about 10 MGD.

"We are hopeful that Haryana will release the required quantity of water and the production will be back to normal," the official said.

If Haryana releases the water on Wednesday, it will reach Delhi in the next 48 hours.

DJB officials said the 1200mm diameter Kailash main was damaged around 3.45pm during some work being carried out by PWD at the Nizamuddin Bridge T-point on the Ring Road. ``This resulted in massive flooding of the Ring Road causing traffic jam. The supply from the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant had to be stopped but repair work could not begin till evening since we had to wait for the water to drain away,'' said an official. Water supply to several areas in south and southwest Delhi were affected on Thursday. For water tankers, residents can call on 29234746 for Greater Kailash-I, 26473720 for Giri Nagar, 26100644 for RK Puram, 23370911 for IP Pumping Station and 29819035 for Jal Sadan.

The residents would also have to pay more for new water connections and sewerage facilities.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who is also DJB's chairperson.

"Multi-storeyed apartments, with more than four storeys, exceeding 250 square yard of plot size will be provided single bulk water connection along with underground tank and sewer connection instead of individual connections. They would be levied sewerage and water development charge at Rs 329 each. This charge has been authorized for the financial year 2010-2011," said a senior DJB official.

Source: DJB to levy extra charge on multi-storeyed flats

The charges for one-time sewerage and water developm- ent for buildings with more than four floors on a plot of more than 250 square yards has also gone up from Rs 300 to Rs 329 per square yard, an official said.

It has also been decided to issue a consolidated bill for wa- ter and sewerage development charges on a plot with both lines.
If sewerage development charg- es are not paid, the water con- nection can be disconnected after serving a notice.

According to officials, to make billing payment easier for consumers, the board will also be introducing facilities like information through SMS. A centralized system costing Rs 30 crore for a period of six years, would be set up for billing to make the entire process more efficient.

To deal with the city's old and a steadily growing sewage network, an integrated sewage master plan for 2036 was also approved. Planning for it would take about 36 months for completion. For curbing water losses, the board also approved the development of the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system for the Bhagirathi water treatment plants and booster pumping stations and underground reservoirs under its command for Rs 121 crore. SCADA would aid in providing real time data on operations and losses and assist in reducing leakages and thefts in east Delhi.

To manage water tankers more efficiently, DJB will bring in a mandate to ensure that any private owner would have to have a minimum of 100 tankers before he/she is allowed to operate. ``At present, there are 700 private tankers in the city and only about 250 owned by DJB. If owners are forced to have at least 100 tankers, we would be assured of some quality services and accountability. DIMTS would be providing a GPS system in each of the vehicles which would also be euro-IV compliant,'' said Ramesh Negi, CEO, DJB.

A uniform rate of Rs 1,000 has been fixed as the cost for one tanker that is hired for marriages and parties. A refill at the function site would cost Rs 700 while one at DJB's filling site would cost Rs 60/kilolitre. For those below poverty line, the services would be available for Rs 400.

Once installed, the system, to be set up at the cost of Rs 121 crore, will provide real-time data delivery to authorised personnel who can make informed choices to step up operational efficiency of the plant.

"The system will help identify losses by closely monitoring all operation and quickly analysing them. This will have an immense impact in reducing the amount of non-revenue water supply in East Delhi," a communiqué issued by the DJB read.

The decision, among several others, was taken at the DJB's 97th meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

The Board also made it mandatory for residents of rural areas to install water meters. "Defaulters would be additionally charged for an average usage of 20 kilolitre per month against the current 10 kilolitre usage limit. The DJB targets to complete installation of meters in such areas by September 30 this year," the DJB release said.

Taking a tough stand, the Board also decided to bill defaulters 10 per cent more on the existing consumption.

A consolidated bill, meanwhile, will now be issued for water and sewerage development charge on a plot with both the lines. If the sewerage development charge is not deposited, water connection would be disconnected after a notice is served, the DJB has said.

Source: The Indian Express New data system to check Delhi Jal Board losses

While the construction of the concrete channel parallel to the Western Yamuna Canal from Munak in Haryana to Wazirabad in Delhi is in the final stages, Haryana is not ready to give the additional water that will be available to Delhi after canal is operational.

Incidentally, the Delhi government has borne the entire project cost of Rs 550 crore. Initially supposed to be completed in 2006, the canal's rescheduled deadline is this March-end.

Once completed, Munak Canal is expected to increase Delhi's raw water supply by 80 million gallons a day (MGD) to run its three water treatment plants the 20-MGD Okhla Water Treatment Plant, the 20-MGD Bawana plant, and the 50-MGD treatment plant at Dwarka.

While talks are on between Delhi and Haryana at both the chief minister-level and the chief secretary-level, the Sheila Dikshit government has requested Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar to intervene in the matter, a top source in the Delhi government told Newsline.

Source: The Indian Express By GEETA GUPTA Canal near-ready but Haryana says no water sharing

Sources say the Ministry of Water Resources is working on a Bill to transfer water from the state list to the concurrent list so that it has more say in how groundwater is utilised by the states. "Since water is a state subject, the Centre has no control over groundwater. Till water is shifted to the concurrent list, the states will continue to use it as they want," they say. While it may be a long process via the Planning Commission, the Cabinet and finally the Parliament, however, when shifted to concurrent list, the Centre will have more than 60 per cent say in decisions related to groundwater.

The fact is Haryana, Punjab, Delhi and Rajasthan are overusing their groundwater reserves, making them the most overexploited states in the country. After he took over as the Minister of Water Resources, Pawan Bansal also said over-exploitation of groundwater and its depleting levels in Punjab and Haryana was a matter of concern. Bansal said over-exploitation of groundwater, causing lowering of groundwater table and deterioration of water quality in some areas primarily due to unsustainable development required serious and immediate action.

Source: The Tribune By Vibha Sharma Water to be shifted to concurrent list

Last season's deficient monsoon left the city dry and the 14 industrial units on Delhi's outskirts are being seen as culprits they allegedly drew excess underground water for various processes.

The DJB now plans to ban the extraction of groundwater by any of these 14 units, and motivate them to use treated sewage effluent. The utility is also in dialogue with the Environment department, the Delhi Pollution Control Board and the Central Ground Water Authority to devise more plans to put a check on the fast depleting groundwater resources in Delhi.

"It will take two to three years for all industries to shift to using treated effluent in place of groundwater," DJB's Additional CEO Santosh Vaidya told Newsline.

At present, Delhi has 17 sewage treatment plants, and three more are under construction. The Capital, in all, produces at least 4.5 lakh kilolitres of treated effluent every day, which is fit for non-potable uses like cleaning, construction, washing, horticulture and others.

Source: The Indian Express Jal Board plans ban on use of groundwater for 14 industries

Water tankers will be available on phone No. 23650040 (Shastri Nagar) and 23814338 (Chandrawal).

The residents have complained that while 24 of the 1,600 flats in the two pockets are the worst affected, water is in short supply even in the remaining houses.

"There are 24 flats that have a perpetual water problem, but the rest are no better. We have made several representations to the Delhi Jal Board to increase the duration of water supply but they refuse to comply," rues a local resident, Amit Agarwal.

Mr. Agarwal says the residents' welfare association had proposed that by increasing the duration of supply all the flats would receive ample water supply. "This was done on a trial basis and we found that by increasing the time by as little as 20 minutes all the flats were able to store the required water. But the Jal Board has instead chosen to give a separate connection from the mainline to the 24 flats that don't get water. That will only solve the problem for these flats but the rest of the flats will continue receiving insufficient water," he alleges. Mr. Agarwal says other pockets in Vasant Kunj where the number of flats is far less have tanks with higher capacity for storing water, whereas for them the tank has a capacity of 2 lakh gallons, which is not sufficient for the 1,600 flats.

Source: The Hindu Jal Board accused of causing water shortage in Vasant Kunj flats

The meters will be installed on the opposite of Hudson Lane Ring Road. It might disrupt water supply on January 27 and 28 in Vijay Nagar, Timarpur, Hudson Lane, Autram Lane, Kingsway Camp and RBTB Hospital.

"This project involves designing, installation and commissioning of an online data monitoring system which would help measure the flow, pressure, UGR levels, energy and water quality parameters. An analysis of these parameters will help the DJB in better water accounting, checking water losses and expediting emergency response," said a DJB official.

The official said that 400 critical points have been identified at all the water treatment plants (WTPs), underground reservoirs (UGRs) and transmission and distribution networks, where these measurements will be gauged. So far all the water treatment plants (WTPs) and major underground reservoirs (UGRs) have been covered.

"The DJB is planning to install one meter per day on the transmission and distribution network," he said.

The plant will be the first in the country to recycle water used in the initial stages of treatment so that there is no wastage. Officials said about 8% of water goes waste in various stages of treatment. At Haiderpur, it is this eight per cent that is recycled. Only sludge will remain as a byproduct and that too will be transported to Sonia Vihar for use in landfilling.

``The Wazirabad treatment plant was built at a cost of Rs 27.8 crore, a sum that will be recovered within three years of operation. The water will feed two underground reservoirs at Burari and benefit about 2.5 to 5 lakh consumers in their command areas,'' an official said.

Source: Times Of India New recycling plant to boost supply by 11 MGD

The affected areas will be Malcha Marg, Rajdoot Marg, NDMC Flats, S P Marg and adjoining areas, Connaught Place, Shankar Market, Hanuman Road, Palika Kendra, Yusuf Zaidi Market, Jain Mandir compound and Emporia.

Water supply will also be at low pressure in Karol Bagh, NDMC area, Paharganj, Azad Market, Civil Lines, Metcalfe House, Hindu Rao Hospital, New Rajendra Nagar and Patel Nagar.