The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has launched a project to modernise and expand the treatment capacity of the Yamuna Vihar sewage treatment plant (STP) in Northeast Delhi. In the first phase, the project aims to add 30 million gallons per day (mgd) to the treatment capacity of the Yamuna Vihar STP. The project will be executed through the upgradation of the Yamuna Vihar STP from 25 mgd to 40 mgd and the construction of a new 15 mgd STP in the same complex. This will take the wastewater treatment capacity of the plant from the current 25 mgd to 55 mgd.
As per the findings of a recent study conducted by the DJB, wastewater in the area has a a biochemical oxygen demand at 350 milligrams (mg) per litre, chemical oxygen demand at 1,000 mg per litre, total suspended solids at 650 mg per litre and faecal coliform levels at 100 million most probable number (MPN) per 100 millilitres. This project intends to remediate this high pollution load and is a part of broader endeavours to enhance the ecological flow in the Yamuna river stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla. Reportedly, for this purpose, the treated wastewater from the Yamuna Vihar STP and the Coronation Pillar STP will be discharged into the Yamuna river (downstream of the Wazirabad barrage) through a closed conduit.