Delhi govt mulls policy to scale up treated water use

The move aligns with the Centre’s Safe Reuse of Treated Water (SRTW) framework; Uttarakhand has already notified a policy encouraging reuse of treated wastewater for construction, industrial processes, irrigation, flushing and urban landscaping.

The DJB recently approved a ₹90-crore project to develop infrastructure for transporting treated water from STPs for horticulture purposes across Delhi.

Officials said pipelines could be laid from nearby STPs to major parks and green belts; decentralised sewage treatment systems may be developed near residential colonies and green spaces.

The policy would prioritize treated water for government construction projects (concrete curing, dust suppression, landscaping) and explore its use for firefighting and other urban utilities. BIS guidelines require pH 6-8.5 and total dissolved solids not exceeding 2,000 ppm, with quality monitoring as a key element.

A pilot is under way at a park in east Delhi; some PWD projects are already using treated water; resident welfare associations (RWAs) have approached DJB for supply of treated water, citing separate flushing tanks.

DJB currently supplies around 89 MGD of treated water to CPWD, DDA, NDMC and MCD; STPs generate about 530 MGD daily, but only around 105 MGD is utilized, with the rest discharged.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will formulate a policy to scale up the use of treated wastewater for non-potable purposes, including construction, firefighting and horticulture, to reduce dependence on freshwater and groundwater.

A 2024 report by the Central Ground Water Board found that Delhi extracts groundwater faster than its natural recharge, with 14 tehsils overexploited, 13 classified as critical, two as semi-critical and five as safe.