Residents across several parts of south, southeast and north Delhi are likely to face disruptions in water supply over the next few days following damage to a major pipeline in north Delhi and a scheduled maintenance shutdown at a key water treatment plant, officials from the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said on Monday.
In north Delhi, water supply has been affected after an 800-millimetre pipeline originating from the Haiderpur Water Treatment Plant was damaged. The disruption is expected to continue until the morning of January 8. Officials said technical teams have been deployed and repair work is underway on a priority basis, though restoration may take over 24 hours due to the depth of the pipeline and site-related constraints.
Areas likely to be affected in north Delhi include several sectors of Rohini, particularly sectors 15 to 19, along with Rithala, Samaypur, Badli, Siraspur and adjoining localities. DJB has advised residents in these areas to contact its water emergency services for tanker supply during the repair period.
Separately, a major maintenance shutdown at the Sonia Vihar Water Treatment Plant is expected to disrupt water supply in parts of south and southeast Delhi on January 5 and 6. The plant, which has a capacity of 140 million gallons per day, caters to a wide expanse of residential and commercial areas.
Localities likely to be impacted by the shutdown include Kailash Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Patparganj, Okhla, Zakir Nagar, Batla House, DESU Colony, Siddharth Enclave, Bharti Nagar and Rabindra Nagar. Water supply disruptions are also expected in Khan Market, Kaka Nagar, Aliganj, Jor Bagh, Lodhi Colony flats, Nizamuddin, Ambedkar Nagar, Shahpur Jat, South Extension, Kotla Mubarakpur and Lajpat Nagar, along with some NDMC areas and nearby colonies.
DJB officials have urged residents to store adequate water in advance to meet their daily needs during the disruption period.
Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about the city’s water quality monitoring system. Earth Warriors, a non-governmental organisation working on climate change and sustainability, wrote to DJB and government authorities on Monday, flagging shortcomings in water quality testing across Delhi. The letter cited recent water contamination incidents in other cities, including Indore, and warned that Delhi faces similar vulnerabilities.
According to the NGO, only one out of 25 DJB water quality testing laboratories is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The letter alleged that despite DJB’s claims of testing around 1,700 samples daily, procurement of essential testing chemicals does not align with the reported volume of tests, and outdated testing methodologies continue to be used.
The organisation has urged authorities to order an inquiry into the existing water quality monitoring mechanism, mandate independent water quality secretariats as outlined under the Jal Jeevan Mission, issue new standard operating procedures for handling contamination, and conduct a comprehensive water quality survey to identify vulnerable areas across the Capital.