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Ammonia levels in Yamuna receding

NEW DELHI: A day after two water treatment plants in the Capital were shut down because of severe contamination of water in the Yamuna, the Delhi Jal Board on Wednesday claimed that the ammonia levels had fallen reasonably.

From a very alarming 4.5 parts per million on Tuesday, the ammonia levels had come down to less than 1 part per million by Wednesday evening. Jal Board officials who have been continuously monitoring the water quality said over 1,000 cusecs of water was released downstream of Wazirabad to flush out the contaminants.

“The levels of ammonia have been steadily declining and we are hopeful that by Thursday morning the situation should be back to normal. We are in a position to start production at the two treatment plants by late Wednesday evening itself,” said Jal Board Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur.

He said though the levels of ammonia in the water were expected to come down further to 0.3 parts per million, the production at both Wazirabad and Chandrawal plants would not be up to their full capacity.

“We will continue to treat the water with higher quantities of chlorine. To begin with, the production will be up to 50-60 per cent of the installed capacity, but it will be progressively increased. We have to rationalise the distribution of the supply because the pond level too has dipped to 673.4 feet.”

Reacting to reports of a severe water shortage in several areas in the Capital and complaints that water tankers too were not easily available, Mr. Mathur said: “Adequate arrangements have been made to ensure water supply to most of the affected areas. Even when we shut down treatment plants, there is always some quantity of water stored in the underground reservoirs. Supply can be managed till up to 10 hours after the plants are shut.”

High levels of ammonia in the Yamuna waters had led to the shutdown of the Chandrawal and Wazirabad treatment plants, causing a severe shortage in several areas on Wednesday.

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