Govt to install 1K RO water ATMs across JJ clusters by December '22

New Delhi: With government officials saying that only four of every 10 water tankers meant for JJ clusters actually reaches the destination, the AAP-led Delhi government has set an ambitious target of installing around 1,000 RO water vending machines — to run 24x7, across JJ clusters in the Capital — by next year in a bid to end the dependence on water tankers as the primary distribution mechanism for these areas.

The water ATMs will be installed on the existing tube wells at government facilities, such as those belonging to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, a government official said.

The move comes ahead of the MCD polls — due to be held in April next year. The government official told that work on the project will start by then and be finished by December 2022.

These water dispensing systems will gradually replace tankers which cause a lot of inconvenience to people dwelling in such clusters, he said. People in JJ clusters have to wait in long queues for hours for a tanker that more often than not empties out within 15 minutes of reaching the area. Many times, the tanker never reaches them.

Another official told on condition of anonymity that tankers waste a lot of water in transit — another issue that will be eliminated under the new system. Also, only four out of 10 tankers reach their destination and that's why we have been stressing on installing GPS systems on all of them, he said, adding around 6,000 tankers supply water to JJ clusters.

The dispensing systems will be a big step forward in preventing water theft. And, there will not be any chaos for water in JJ clusters like it is now, the official said.

Under this project, a 100 kilolitre dispensing system will be installed for every 500 households or 2,000 people, which means 250 to 200 litres of drinking water per family per day. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is also considering providing a card to each household so that every family gets a fixed minimum quantity of water every day — that can be monitored.

There will be a proper mechanism to prevent overusage of water. A fixed quantity will be dispensed per household per day. There will be no queues and long waits as these vending machines will operate 24X7, the official said.

According to the official, a DJB tanker carries 3,000 litres of water and even if five tankers are sent to an area per day, people get a maximum of 15,000 litres. But here, one vending machine will dispense 100,000 litres of water — meaning, water availability per household also stands to increase.

Considering the salary of drivers, fuel, and other operational and maintenance costs, it costs the DJB Rs 150-200 to supply 1,000 litres of water through tankers. The cost per 1000 litres of water through vending machines will be much less, he added.

These new RO systems will be able to purify 80 per cent of the raw water. The 20 per cent non-potable water will be collected in tanks for other purposes such as bathing and washing, officials said.

Of the total groundwater available in Delhi, only 25 per cent is freshwater and the rest is saline with high TDS (total dissolved solids). The TDS content in this huge quantum of saline groundwater goes up to 5,000 ppm (particles per million) and there is no technology other than reverse osmosis (RO) which can treat it, the official explained, adding that they will draw water from this saline layer — creating space for rainwater to percolate and increase freshwater in the

ground.