This river Stinks

With waste and effluents being dumped into the Yamuna at uncontrollable levels, the river could soon cease to be functional

Akash Bisht Delhi

In India, rivers are worshipped, yet severely polluted. They nurture cities, towns and communities, but end up receiving the filth and waste generated by the same people who consider them sacred. The Yamuna, which flows by Delhi, is no different. Despite numerous efforts to clean it, it only seems to be getting filthier with every passing year. Experts claim that the river is 'virtually dead' when it reaches downstream with Delhi being responsible for 79 per cent of the total pollution load.

Yamuna traverses 1,375 kilometres from its source in Uttarakhand to Allahabad and maintains a good quality of water till it reaches Wazirabad in Delhi. In Delhi, 15 drains discharge their wastewater in the river, making it the most polluted river in the country with BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) levels ranging from 14 to 28 mg/l without any dissolved oxygen. Its 22 kilometre stretch in Delhi has hardly any fresh water in it and what flows is only sewage and pollutants.

Delhi generates about 3,267 million litres per day (mld) of sewage while the city's installed wastewater treatment capacity is only 2,330 mld. More than 937 mld of waste is not treated. Adding to the river's woes, out of Delhi's 2330 mld treatment capacity, more than 37 per cent is under-utilised and 1270 mld of sewage is untreated and let to flow in the river everyday. Suresh Babu, Deputy Coordinator, River Pollution Unit, Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi, says: “Delhi's treatment plants are immensely under-utilised and it can be attributed to various factors. There is a shortage of power and fresh water for dilution and the government has not done much to overcome this problem. They have cleared Rs 1,950 crore to tap drains carrying sewage from colonies not connected to city sewers. It's a temporary solution to the problem of tapping untreated sewage reaching the river but interceptors have failed in Agra, Varanasi and other places.”

To make the water fit for bathing, Yamuna needs at least 24,000 mld of fresh water for dilution, but where is the fresh water? The river lacks fresh water for almost nine months, hence a negligible amount of fresh water is let out in the river. The river has a dilution requirement of 75 per cent, implying that for every 100 litres of wastewater, 75 litres of freshwater is required. Scientists state that with the flow of fresh water, pollutants (especially organic pollutants) degrade to a large extent. But at every step, this purified water is extracted, and larger loads of pollution make their way into the river.   

Reports have confirmed that the situation is worse during the summer months when only wastewater and industrial effluents flow downstream of Wazirabad. “Since there is no fresh water downstream of Wazirabad, one can imagine what flows in Yamuna. During this dry period, discharges from the Shahadara drain also join the river downstream of the Okhla barrage, bringing effluents from east Delhi and Noida into the river,” informs RC Trivedi, Additional Director, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi. Yamuna has no fresh water upstream during the dry periods and it is only during the monsoon that river has some fresh water, and whatever water reaches Wazirabad is impounded for the city's consumption. In dry periods, the water table is very low so if water is released it is soon absorbed by the river bed. Trivedi informs, “If you release 10 cusecs of water then it won't flow for long and will soon be absorbed by the river bed.”

Trivedi has been studying Yamuna for the past 30 years and cautions, “Remember Delhi is downstream and if smaller cities upstream also start adding the same kind of waste then that day isn't far when we won't even have water to drink.” With Delhi's population rising fast, the city's water demand is also showing a steep rise, and so is domestic waste. Domestic waste contributes 80-90 per cent of Yamuna's pollution, contrary to popular belief that it's industrial waste that degrades the river.

Scientists are worried about the rising population and a large number of unauthorised colonies that are mushrooming in Delhi. These unplanned colonies are adding to Delhi's domestic waste problem as there is no sanitation system and hence a lot of domestic waste cannot be either tapped or sent to treatment plants. “Almost half of Delhi doesn't have access to sanitation or sewage and that is unacceptable. After the Supreme Court's order a number of jhuggis have been removed from the banks of the Yamuna but there are still many more unauthorised colonies without having official underground drainage systems,” says a senior Delhi Jal Board official.

Delhi's water resources have an estimated carrying capacity of eight million people, while the actual population is around 17 million. According to a report released by the CPCB, the population of Delhi is expected to reach 182 lakh by 2011. The water requirement will shoot up to 6,674 mld and wastewater generation will be more than 5,340 mld. The rapid urbanisation that the city is witnessing is not only threatening Yamuna but also the water table in the city. Yamuna only provides 60 per cent of Delhi's water needs and rest is extracted from the ground. “Delhi's total recharge capacity of groundwater is 0.3 billion cubic meters (bcm) while we are extracting .48 bcm. That is exactly one and half times more than the capacity and this is not a good sign because if we keep extracting water like this we would have huge water crisis in the city,” says a concerned Trivedi.

Massive real estate development on the floodplains of the river in the capital is threatening city's largest water feature. The soil which defines the floodplains and holds up to 60 per cent of water is slowly and steadily being consumed by private real estate developers. The flood plains are under threat with existing developments like the Akshardham Complex, Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Metro and Commonwealth Games Village. With this increasing encroachment of the floodplains the city water woes are likely to increase in near future.

At CSE, scientists say it is the administration and the government that is to be blamed for most of the river's woes. “Delhi Jal Board wastes more than 40 per cent water during transit. The government has wasted a lot of money and Yamuna has got even dirtier. They are accountable for this,” complains Babu. He further states that Delhi wastes a lot of water and people need to learn to save it before it is too late. Babu also alleges that the whole ammonia issue that hit the headlines recently is not fair because the cities that live downstream of Delhi never complain. “Whenever the ammonia level in the water rises there is a hue and cry and Delhi government starts blaming the Haryana government. What I don't understand is that why does UP never put any political pressure on Delhi? Agra is downstream of Delhi and has to clean and drink the same water that flows in Yamuna from Delhi. Go ask the engineers in Agra and they will tell you about the quality of water they receive after Yamuna passes Delhi,” says Babu.

There are hundreds of other small towns and cities on the banks of Yamuna upstream from Delhi. Things could get worse if they start following Delhi's footsteps and pollute the river. Babu cautions, “With the kind of urbanisation that we are witnessing, the water would soon become untreatable when it reaches Delhi. We should always remember that we live downstream.”

Trivedi suggests certain steps that could be taken to save the Yamuna and other rivers — “We are the wettest country in the world and receive more than 4,000 bcm water through rainfall every year, but we use only 634 bcm. If we could raise our storage capacity by water harvesting then we could use that extra water for several other purposes and that in turn would take the load off our rivers.”

Some believe that wastewater should rather be used for irrigation as it contains nutrients for crops, while industries should have their own treatment plants and recycle the same water. “If we need to save the Yamuna we will have to reduce our wastage, stop urbanisation, the administration will need to have a better water management policy and above all stop effluents from reaching the river. Only then will our future generations have water to drink,” concludes Babu.