Augmentation of Capacity of Gurgaon Water Supply Channel (GWS) to Augment Water Supply in Gurugram District

• 14 Nov 2022

Why In News?

• On November 12, 2022, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal informed a meeting of the Irrigation and Water Resources Department held in Chandigarh that the capacity of Gurgaon Water Supply Channel (GWS) will be increased to increase water supply in Gurugram district of the state.

Key Points

• It may be noted that at present the water supply channel capacity in Gurugram is 175 cusecs, which will be increased to 1000 cusecs according to the population of the year 2030. For this, the repair and remodeling of the channel will cost about Rs 1600 crore.
• It was informed in the meeting that the length of Gurgaon water supply channel is 69 km, which originates from Kakroi head on RD No-227800 of Delhi branch and ends at Basai Water Treatment Plant.
• The channel was constructed in the year 1995 with a capacity of 175 cusecs. The channel caters to the water needs of Bahadurgarh, Gurugram and 28 water works of Public Health Engineering, HSIIDC and Forest Department. The channel lining has deteriorated due to continuous water flow for 27 years. In some places, there have been cracks in the channel and due to siltation, the water capacity has decreased and the capacity of this channel has reached 100 cusecs, which is in dire need of repair.
• It was informed in the meeting that water is also taken from this channel by various departments to meet the needs of water. It can be clearly seen from this that by the year 2040, the requirement of drinking water in Gurugram city and towns will reach about 475 cusecs. To meet this demand and to avoid wastage of water, a project of remodeling of GWS channel has been prepared along with increasing the cusec capacity.
• At present, 1050 cusecs of water is being given to Delhi, 400 cusecs to Gurugram and the remaining water is being used for irrigation. With the repair, remodeling of these channels, the total capacity will be 2300 cusecs, which will be able to meet the availability of water by the year 2030.
• It was informed in the meeting that by the year 2030, 1068 cusecs will be required according to the water needs of Haryana Urban Development Authority, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, Public Health Engineering Department, HSIIDC, Forest Department etc. Similarly, 1269 cusecs of water will be required by 2040 and 1504 cusecs by 2050. This will also require redesign and remodeling of the Delhi branch.
• Regarding water supply, it was informed in the meeting that Renuka, Kishau and Lakhwar dams are proposed to be built on Yamuna river, whose work is likely to be completed by 2031. With the construction of these dams, Haryana will get 1150 cusecs of water from its share.
• The Chief Minister said that in order to ensure proper management of water, the treated waste water policy will have to be fully implemented in the colonies developed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority, industrial estates developed by HSIIDC and colonies developed by private developers in the coming years, which will Under double pipeline, separate line for clean water and separate line for treated water and installation of micro STP will be emphasized and apart from this emphasis will be laid on implementing rain water harvesting system.
• The Chief Minister directed the officials to take steps to bring the water of river Ganga to Haryana, for which a letter should be written to the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh for the construction of Ganga-Yamuna Link Canal. With the construction of this link canal, additional availability of water to Haryana will be ensured.
• He also directed the officials of the Faridabad Metropolitan Authority that to meet the water requirement in Faridabad also, emphasis should be laid on water harvesting through Raini well project. Apart from this, an expert committee should also be constituted, which will study the underground flow in Yamuna and also assess how much water is needed in South Haryana and how much is being supplied at present.