NEW DELHI: The water level in the Yamuna in Delhi may have receded below the warning mark but the situation is being monitored as the IMD has predicted widespread rainfall in the upper catchment areas of the river, according to the officials.
Since the low-lying areas in Delhi near the river vulnerable to flooding were heavily impacted, since the water level had breached the danger mark, the officials of the Delhi Jal Board shared that the excess of rainwater of Yamuna has been diverted to a new artificial lake in Bawana.
The lake is 3 km long and 20 m wide and is an abaFloodingndoned part of old bawana escape drain by Delhi government’s irrigation department. According to the officials, the water will recharge groundwater which can be extracted during peak summers to augment drinking water. In yet another case, the excess Yamuna rainwater will be diverted to Palla lake – created by the Delhi government on 26 acres of the area.
This lake has already recharged more than 1,400 million gallons of water in the last 17 days. Officials shared that the lake is full of floodwater from the river. “Water has TDS more than 100, which is sufficient for 1.25 lakh houses. It is expected to improve the groundwater levels by 2-3 metres,” said an official.
This ‘city of lakes’ project was launched in 2018 to increase the water supply by recharging groundwater and recycling treated wastewater to meet Delhi’s water demand of 1,140 million gallons (MGD) per day. The current supply of 940 MGD falls short of the demand by 200 MGD. Setting up new groundwater recharge reservoirs and rejuvenating existing lakes was the motive of the project.
It was on December 2018, when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced this proposal of the ‘City Lake’ project by approving Rs 376 crore for the rejuvenation of 159 lakes in Delhi and Rs 77 crore for the creation of two mega lakes in Rohini and Nilothi.
Yamuna levels recede
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the water level in the Yamuna in Delhi receded below the warning mark but the situation is being monitored as the IMD has predicted widespread rainfall in, officials said on Thursday. The Delhi government’s flood control room said the water level on the river dipped from 204.89 metres at 7 am on Wednesday to 204.32 metres at 6 pm on Thursday.
The river had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres last Friday, prompting the authorities to evacuate around 7,000 people from low-lying areas. The water level had receded below the warning mark on Monday. and stood at 203.96 metres.