Water harvesting project lauded by Aussie agency

The Delhi government’s first-of-its-kind “conserve and use” Palla floodplain water harvesting project was lauded by a delegation of water experts and technologists from South Australian Water, a government-business enterprise owned by the Government of South Australia. The delegation had visited the Delhi Jal Board to understand the dynamic steps taken by the Delhi government in improving production and distribution of water in the city. The delegation lauded the DJB’s efforts in urban water management as well as innovative floodwater harvesting techniques, of which the Palla project of the DJB is the first of its kind in the world. They praised the city government’s pro-people initiatives and its tremendous gains in infrastructure overhauling, including high quality sewage treatment.

The project, which was revived last year to conserve rainwater in the city heavily dependent on its neighbouring states for water, the DJB has already created an extra 10 million gallons per day (10 MGD). In the next 6 months, 35 MGD will be created in the first phase and reaching a total of 60 MGD by the end of the year, in terms of extra production.

A new reservoir will also be created in Palla, which will be monitored by a central control room with automatic Scada sensors to monitor arsenic and salinity.