Delhi Jal Board (DJB) vice-chairman Somnath Bharti has said in accordance with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s vision, priority will be given to the re-use of treated water to save the clean drinking water of the Delhi Jal Board.

Efforts are being made to promote the use of treated water or ‘tertiary water’ of sewer treatment plants for non-potable purposes like washing of roads, agricultural irrigation, industrial needs, construction work, irrigation of public parks, etc.

Bharti said drinking water from tube wells is presently being used in these non-potable works. Requirements of these sectors could be fulfilled with the treated water.

He directed the officials to use treated water from sewage treatment plants instead of tube wells for non-potable purposes. Precious drinking water can be saved by preserving the ground water by using treated water from STPs in works like agriculture, irrigation, industries, construction and washing of roads. This will also help in increasing the availability of drinking.

Chairing a high-level meeting organised at Delhi Jal Board Headquarters for increasing water availability and saving water, the DJB vice-chairman said every drop of water is precious and it is necessary to use it wisely. Using drinking water for non-potable purposes is a complete waste of drinking water. The clean drinking water that can quench the thirst of the people of Delhi, should not be wasted for non-potable purposes.

Senior officials of the DJB, Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) attended the meeting.

There are 35 sewage treatment plants in Delhi to treat wastewater. These sewer treatment plants produce more than 567-MGD of treated water every day. The quality standard of the treated water of most of the sewer treatment plants of the Delhi Jal Board is 10/10 which is in line with international standards. This STP treated water can be used for many non-potable purposes.

The Delhi Jal Board is taking several steps to promote the use of treated water. The Board is also recharging ground water with the help of treated water by constructing artificial lakes in Delhi. Besides, people are also being encouraged to use treated water for non-potable purposes. The more treated water is used, the more drinking water can be saved. If treated water is used extensively for non-potable purposes, then Delhi can produce more water than the actual demand.

In the meeting, it was decided that the Delhi Jal Board will give permission for the installation of tubewells only in those areas where drinking water is not available through the DJB water pipelines.

Bharti said installation of tube wells would not be allowed in areas where the DJB is already providing adequate supply of drinking water. This decision has been taken in view of the continuous decline in the ground water level of Delhi. The decision will help arrest the decline in groundwater level and also reduce the use of clean drinking water for non-drinking purposes.

The DJB vice-chairman said according to the rules, the board is not authorised to take action against the illegal tube wells. The authority to seal illegal tubewells lies with the district revenue commissioner and SDM of the area concerned. Hence, action against the illegal tube-wells will be taken by the Revenue District Commissioner and SDM of the areas concerned.