Yamuna pollution worsened in March: DPCC reports spike in faecal coliform & BOD levels

New Delhi: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s (DPCC) latest data on the water quality status of the Yamuna for March shows a further rise in the faecal coliform levels, as compared to the months of January and February, indicating that a significant amount of untreated sewage is entering the river.

The report also shows high levels of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), a measure of the amount of dissolved oxygen required by microorganisms to break down organic matter in water -- a higher BOD value indicates higher levels of pollution, often leading to oxygen depletion and harm to aquatic life.

The water quality testing by DPCC involves collecting water samples from eight locations along the course of the Yamuna through the capital, measuring several parameters such as BOD, dissolved oxygen, chemical oxygen demand, pH, and faecal coliform, to determine pollution level.

These eight locations include Palla, Wazirabad, ISBT Bridge, ITO Bridge, Nizamuddin Bridge, Hindon Cut, Okhla Barrage and Asgarpur in Kidwali, Haryana.

The March report shows faecal coliform levels as high as 400,000 Most Probable Number per 100 millilitres (MPN/100 ml) at Asgarpur, which far exceeds the permissible limit of 2,500 and the desirable level of 500.

The level at the same site was 350,000 MPN/100 ml in January and 92,000 MPN/100 ml in February 2026.

Among the eight locations, only one has shown improvement since January. The faecal coliform level at ISBT Bridge was recorded at 160,000 MPN/100 ml, as compared to 110,000 MPN/100 ml in February and 220,000 MPN/100 ml in January.Coliform levels rose again in March at several sites, while BOD breached norms up to 60 mg/l; activists flagged delays in DPCC data on river pollution monitoring.