Steps to improve quality of drinking water

The AAP government is in the process of initiating a series of measures to monitor and improve the quality of drinking water supply in various parts of the national capital. The government intends to set up a water disaster management centre to impart training and provide research facilities not only to its own employees, but also to the ones from other states as well. It is planning to open 14 more water testing facilities at its sewage treatment plants and induct GPS-enabled 13 mobile laboratories to carry out on-the-spot tests of drinking water in different areas.

At present, water testing laboratories are only available at seven STPs. These laboratories carry out water tests once or twice every week. However, the AAP government now plans to equip its remaining 14 STPs with laboratories to examine water on an hourly basis. It plans to induct mobile labs to carry out on-the-spot tests. The water-testing reports will be uploaded on the DJB website and grievances related to quality of drinking water will be redressed within 24 hours.

The AAP government is also in the process of setting up a water disaster management centre to impart training to its employees and carry out extensive research on drinking water. The centre will have a control room to monitor the supply of water from its direct source till it reaches the STPs or the Yamuna river. The estimated cost of the centre, without infrastructure, will work out to about '50 crore. The centre will be on lines with the one operating in the United States.

A source said that continuous monitoring of the water supply was necessary as affluents of industries and hospitals were directly going either into the STPs or the Yamuna river. “Since toxins like nickel go into the STPs, it was causing major damage to them. Now, we will be installing sensors to check the inflow of any radioactive substance into the STPs,” a senior officer told this newspaper.

The officer said that plans were also afoot to ensure that the lab reports were directly available on the mobile applications of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and minister concerned Kapil Mishra. A report to this effect is ready and will be soon moved before the city Cabinet for the final approval.

The AAP government has been making serious efforts to provide piped drinking water to Delhiites. Soon after it came to power, it announced free supply of 20 kilolitre water to each household every month in the city. It plans to provide piped water supply to one and all in the next two years. To enable the residents of unauthorised colonies to avail of water and sewer connections, the government has already reduced new connection charges by 80 per cent and these ultimately resulted in new connections to 1.42 lakh families during last year.