Water demand rising, govt banking on STPs and rainwater harvesting

New Delhi: The Delhi government has suggested that the water demand in the Capital is set to increase to around 1,500 MGD in the upcoming summer season which the government is working on delivering.

The Economic Survey Report presented in the Legislative Assembly on Friday by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia mentioned that the city's water demand is set to increase to 1,505 MGD this year against the expected supply of 1,200 MGD.

A senior official in the Delhi Jal Board said that rainwater harvesting and increasing the capacity of the existing STPs are the key methods through which the Board hopes to meet the rising demand. The Board had a total water treatment capacity of 921 MGD during 2021 which is being escalated ahead of the summer season.

The water department is working on treating and using local sewage water for irrigation purposes and recharging groundwater so that demand for piped freshwater is reduced. "We aim to supply freshwater to all households and use treated water for other miscellaneous purposes. Increasing the capacity of existing STPs is one such method," the official said.

Around 93 per cent of households now have access to piped water supply, and water production during the summer season is being maintained at 953 million gallons a day (MGD) consistently, according to the Delhi Economic Survey 2021-22. Water is supplied to about 20 million people through the existing water supply network of 15,041-km-long pipelines and about 125 underground reservoirs (UGRs), it said.

The Delhi Government has ensured free pipeline water of up to 20 kilolitres to every household having metered water connection and around 6 lakh consumers have benefited through it. The state

government has been able to provide regular water supply to the un-served and under-served areas and has covered 1,583 or 88 per cent of unauthorised colonies.