DJB to replace 80-year-old Chandrawal water treatment plant

New Delhi: The Delhi Jal Board will construct a new water treatment plant replacing the around 80-year-old Chandrawal plant, in order to improve quality of water supply in the Walled City and other adjoining areas.

Under the project, 650 km of pipes will be laid. The Delhi Water Supply Improvement Project (DWSIP) will be implemented in four construction packages and is estimated to be completed by 2021.

The move to construct a new water treatment plant aims at improving the water supply to about 21 lakh people living in an area of 96 square km in the heart of Delhi, which is so far being catered from the Chandrawal water treatment plant.

According to DJB officials, Chandrawal plant is the oldest plant built in 1936 and has become obsolete. The water from this plant is predominantly supplied to the walled city area and the NDMC regions.

"The objective of the Delhi Water Supply Improvement Project (DWSIP) is to bring about equitable and continuous water supply to the residents in the command area of the Chandrawal water treatment plant and it aim to deliver sufficient potable water at a minimum pressure.

"This will benefit the customers by eliminating the need for booster pumps, household storage and costly water purification systems at home," DJB spokesperson Sanjam Cheema said.

Official claims, the new plant will be based on modern treatment technologies like advanced disinfection with ozonation and dual-media filtration.

"It aims to address the problem of high ammonia, which causes the present plant to frequently shut down. The treatment process also targets the removal of unacceptable taste, odour, colour and organic pollutants, without producing harmful dis-infection by-products, in line with the international best practices," Cheema said.

The plant will include solar panels installed over the storage tanks for generation of renewable energy.

DJB is also taking various measures to reduce leakages and improve system pressure, reduce infiltration of contaminated water, so that people get safe drinking water in their homes on a continuous basis.

The command areas under this project broadly consists of the Old Delhi areas of Chandani Chowk, Pahari Dhiraj, Idgah, Civil Lines, Karol Bagh, Kamla Nagar, Malkganj, Rajinder Nagar, Shadipur, Patel Nagar, Naraina, north and west Delhi including the bulk supply areas of the NDMC and the Cantonment areas.