- Delhi Jal Board starts working on decentralized water supply and waste water treatment model
- 6 innovative Pilot Projects to be implemented in different areas of the city in next 6 months.
- The projects envisage decentralized water supply, colony level treatment of waste water and its supply to the colony for non drinking purposes
- Holistic, zero waste projects to benefit around 50,000 people
- DJB to look at out-of-the-box solutions for meeting water demand and waste water disposal
- Decentralized model will help in providing water supply and sewerage facilities in the unauthorized colonies and villages
New Delhi: In accordance with the directions given by Sh Arvind Kejriwal, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Delhi for innovative and decentralized water supply and waste water management in Delhi, especially in unauthorized colonies and villages, the Delhi Jal Board has started working on such projects in the right earnest. In a paradigm shift from the approach based on big sewer treatment plants, big and trunk sewers, it has now decided to go for small, colony wise solutions. DJB has taken up six projects on pilot basis for decentralized water supply, local treatment of sewer in small STPs in the colony itself and use of treated water from the STP in the colony for non-drinking purposes through double piping. The sludge produced will also be used locally as a manure to enhance the greening efforts.
The six colonies/villages selected for the project are in different areas of Delhi and are yet to be provided with optimum water and sewer services. These are Gautampuri near Aali Gaon, Aya Nagar village, Sai Nagar, Kair Village, Sonia Vihar A-Block, Begam Vihar B-Block. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs. 95.32 Crores. The pilot projects are expected to benefit around 50,000 people of these colonies/villages. The Board’s focus is on improving the living conditions of the residents in unauthorised colonies and also on reducing the stress on the demand of potable water supply.
In these six unplanned areas, the sewage generated will not be taken to far off STPs but will be treated locally. This will then be supplied to residents through a dual pipe system that will be installed in people’s homes. The new STPs will treat water to a quality level which can be used for bathing and other non drinking purposes. These projects include a provision for supplying drinking water through a separate pipe. The combined system of supply comprising both potable and non-potable uses shall be managed in a way to encourage the usage of treated effluent. The projects bear a testimony to the fact that the DJB is looking at out-of-the-box solutions to meet the water demands of the residents of Delhi.
Speaking about the Pilot Projects, the CEO, DJB Sh. S.S.Yadav lauded the idea of decentralized water supply and waste water treatment services and said “the decentralized approach will help DJB in extending water supply and sewerage services to all the unauthorized colonies and villages quickly. It will be a cost effective and efficient model as the services can be provided at a lower cost and in a shorter time frame by adopting community based service delivery approach.” The decentralized model will also make available lot of water for horticultural purposes, reduce extraction of ground water and will reduce stress on drinking water. It will help in ground water recharge, promote greening efforts and will save the precious resource.
Presently piped water supply is available in 1100 out of 1642 unauthorized colonies while sewerage services are available only in 210 unauthorized colonies. Many villages are also without piped water supply/sewerage services. Delhi Jal Board has prepared a Sewerage Master Plan to extend sewerage services in the remaining unauthorized colonies and villages. However, extending the network by traditional approach will take 15 years and Rs 20,000 crores. It’s believed that adopting a decentralized model can help in getting this work done much faster and at a lesser cost. The six pilot projects, which are likely to be completed in next 6 months will pave the way for more such projects and community involvement in management of water supply and sewage disposal services.
In the past, the DJB has collaborated with the NGO SANA to install a unique and cutting edge project at the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Keshopur named “Sujala Dhara-Toilet to Tap- Transforming Lives through Technology”. Under this project, potable water is produced from waste water flows which can be used for all domestic purposes, including drinking. The current capacity of the plant is 25 million litres of water per year.
To reduce the dependence on potable water supply, the Delhi Jal Board is relying on advanced technology to treat the waste water flows to a high quality level, whereby the consumers can make use of the water for various purposes. The Board is consistently working towards extending the water and waste water services to all unauthorized colonies in order to make piped water supply and waste water services available to each household in Delhi.
