Urban lakes and wetlands: opportunities and challenges in Indian cities - Case study of Delhi

Overview & Synopsis

In India, urban water bodies commonly become cesspools due to lack of sanitation facilities. Delhi is continually urbanizing at a rapid pace that has affected the condition of water bodies. To identify water resource available within Delhi, an extensive field survey and remote sensing based mapping was carried out in Delhi to map all the water bodies including groundwater recharge sites - 44 lakes and 355 village ponds. Hauz Khas, a historical tank and important recharge site, was restored by sourcing secondary treated wastewater and further improving water quality through ecological methods including bio-remediation that are cost effective. Water quality, water recharge and avian diversity data was collected to record improvement. The water table rose by more than 6 m, biological oxygen demand decreased from 50 to 15 mg/L in 21 days, the number of resident and migratory birds increased with two resident water bird species breeding in the lake.