Valuing Delhi’s Natural Resources

Yamuna Floodplains

Water is created naturally. It cannot be made technologically

Professor Vikram Soni (National Physical Laboratory)

Inputs: Prof s P S Dutta, V N Bajpai, Manu Bhatnagar, Diwan Singh,O Kumar , CGWB.

NATURAL HERITAGE FIRST (supported by Ashok Trivedi)

FRESHWATER /india• Land 3.4 million sqkm• Rainfall 4000 km^3• Rivers etc 1870km^3• Usable 670 km^3• Groundwater430km^3• Total (Use) 1100km^3• PerPerson1100cu.mt.• In 1947 > 3000 cu.mt.

• Actual Use 500 km^3• = 500 Billion cu. mt• Agri. > 80 %• Industry < 10 %• Domestic < 10 %• Total per person 500

cu.mt

INDIASome concerns;

• Glaciers melting

• Water storage capacity going down as forests shrink

• Population up by 4 times since independence

Natural Resource loss( >50%) is more serious than climate change as it is IRREVERSIBLE

And we are developing at a huge pace to catch up with U.S , where energy consumption is over 20 times ours.

• U.S. area is 3 times India’s, U.S. population is quarter of India’s. So amount of natural resources available with U.S is 12 times per

capita compared to India.

• We are becoming conspicuous consumers So we are going to finish these resources much more than12 times faster than U.S. - DANGER

Our City - Delhi

In developing countries cities are urbanizing at an unsustainable pace, way beyond their carrying capacity., in terms of everything:

• Natural resources, water, waste disposal, traffic, shrinking open spaces etc.

• WATER

• For these mega cities in the developing world it is no longer a question of importing an essential resource like water, the water is just not there

• New York, gets its water from the Catskills forest, which is 150

kilometres away. Delhi does not have such an option

 

Water Resource - Delhi

• The sustainable carrying capacity of Delhi is about 8 million - less than half its present population! (“Water and Carrying Capacity of a City; Delhi”, Vikram Soni,

published in Economic and Political Weekly, Nov. 8 2003,)

• The study finds that a third of the city’s water is imported from the Ganga and the Beas and further import of water from these heavily agricultured river basins will lead to intense conflict.

• It also found that the secondary (non potable) recycling of water is not a realistic option, as the cost per person per year will be close to $ 200,a third of the annual per capita income

• This makes it urgently necessary to examine the issue in depth- especially the preservation of local natural water resource.

A NEW SCHEMETHE FLOODPLAINS OF THE YAMUNA HAVE THE CAPACITY TO

STORE ENOUGH WATER FROM MONSOON DISCHARGE TO TAKE CARE OF

2/3 OF DELHI’S WATER NEEDS

NO OTHER SOLUTIONS FOR DELHI

Rain water Harvesting is no solution : can provide only 5% of this volume

It also found that the secondary (non potable) recycling of water is not a realistic option, as the cost per person PER YEAR will be close to $200

40% of the city’s water is imported from the Ganga and the Beas-Sutlej and further import of water from these heavily agricultured river basins will lead to intense conflict

Delhi Yamuna Flood PlainsArea - 97 sq.kms on map

Soil Composition - Permeable Top Layer: Sand

Below: silt, clay and bedrock

Depth of sand layer - 30-40 metres approximately

Water holding capacity - 40 % of its volume (see experiment)

Specific yield 20% of its volume ~600 million cubic meters

Total water extraction potential- 600 million cubic metres (almost 2/3

annual water supply of Delhi)

Economic Value – over Rs. 6000 crores per year of permanent annual

non invasive use ((estimated at cheapest tanker value of water i.e Rs 1,000 for 10,000 liters or recycling cost)

See “Three Waters…”, Vikram Soni, published in Current Science, 25 September 2007

Before 1960 Every year we had some monsoon flooding

At Present in Delhi we have only DECADAL floods (1995,1978)

From lack of flow

Even now,the river has enough surplus flow in the monsoon

4 BILLION MCM

A NEW SCHEME – REGULATED FLOOD

EMBANK FLOODPLAIN BETWEEN BARRAGES. DURING MONSOON

DISCHARGE OPEN UPSTREAM BARRAGE CLOSE DOWN STREAM

BARRAGE. REGULATED INUNDATION FOR A DAY OR TWO WILL

SATURATE THE FLOODPLAIN.

Percolation in the sand layer is fast: At one site: 8 meters in less than 1 day

Needs a 30 meter underground bund at Okhla

Needs strategic bunds from Palla to Okhla

•Once we withdraw water from the floodplain, the

monsoon regulated flood will restore the freshwater to

its original level

Yamuna Floodplain: Features

In normal non flood state water flows from outer flood plain to river as outer floodplain has less sand so more shallow aquifer

ECONOMICS

1960 – 3 Million Delhi – water - no problem

URBANIZATION

Now - 17million Delhi -- no water - problem

Newsweek , AUGUST 27 (2007)

China will spend $125 billion in 5 years for recycling water

$5 Billion for 20-25 million people in Shanghai - $200 per capita per year

Recycling cost for Delhi – 15 million people - $3, billion ( = previous estimate)

We are giving Delhi an option to do this free thanks to nature

OBSTACLESBuilding kills aquifer and also increases withdrawal

FLOODPLAIN BEING DESTROYED BY CONSTRUCTIONAgainst advice from NEERI, MoEF Expert Committee and COURTS

1.AKSHARDHAM2.METRODEPOT ETC3.COMMON WEALTH GAMES VILLAGE4.OTHER

SOLUTIONSAlternative siteMetro depot – Anand Vihar in east Delhi.Games Village - Dwarka , Jasola, or Safdarjang AirportOthers - Cancel

ALTERNATIVENEERI specifically says build a temporary structure for Games village

Suggestion

Augment flow in the Yamuna

AT HATHNIKUND

YAMUMA Diverted to

Western Yamuna Canal (Haryana) Eastern Yamuna Canal (UP)

Delhi gets water from

BEAS ( FROM WEST) GANGA ( TEHRI)

Eco strategy INSTEAD JUST LET THE YAMUNA FLOW TO DELHI

The BEAS to Haryana and the GANGA to UP and not waste water

transport in canals and avoid siltation and conflict