Delhi govt to set up 32 real-time water monitoring stations along Yamuna, drains

New Delhi: The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) will install 32 real-time water quality monitoring stations along the Yamuna and its major drains to track pollutant levels entering the heavily contaminated river, officials said on Wednesday.

The online monitoring stations (OLMS) are designed to continuously monitor and transmit water quality data round the clock to the DPCC server. The data is expected to be available by the end of the year.

The initiative, similar to air quality monitoring systems, will cost around Rs 22 crore, an official said.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said the OLMS will monitor parameters such as biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (as nitrates and nitrites), total phosphorus, and ammonia.

The government had initiated the process last year for setting up 14 stations along the Yamuna and 18 on various drains. These are expected to become operational by year-end and tenders for the project have already been floated, Sirsa said.

“It will help obtain real-time data on water quality at various river and drain locations. This will make it easier to identify the exact time and place where pollution levels spike,” an official said.

Proposed locations for OLMS include Palla, ISBT Bridge, ITO Bridge, Nizamuddin Bridge, Okhla Barrage, Najafgarh Drain, Metcalfe House Drain, Khyber Pass Drain, and Sweeper Colony Drain, among others.

Stations will also be installed on drains bringing pollutants from neighbouring states, such as DD6 at Singhu Border (Sonipat), Bahadurgarh drains, and those from Uttar Pradesh merging into Shahdara, Sahibabad, and Banthia drains.

The selected agency will be responsible for installation and commissioning of the electro-magnetic monitoring equipment, officials said.

According to government data, the 22-kilometre stretch of the Yamuna between Wazirabad and Okhla -- though only about two per cent of the river’s total length -- contributes nearly 80 per cent of its pollution load.

The primary sources of this pollution are untreated wastewater from unauthorised colonies and slums, along with poorly treated effluent discharged from sewage treatment plants (STPs) and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs).