Yamuna water quality 42 times worse than safe limit, says report

The Yamuna River’s water quality has hit a new low, with pollution levels rising sharply over the last two years. A report by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) shows that Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels have crossed dangerous limits at several points in the city.

BOD is a key indicator of river health. It measures how much oxygen is needed by bacteria to break down organic matter in water. For a healthy river, the level should stay below 3 mg/l. In January 2025, BOD at the Najafgarh drain touched 127 mg/l—over 42 times the acceptable limit. This is the highest recorded at that location in the past two years.

The report, Progress in Rejuvenation of the River Yamuna, highlights sharp pollution spikes between December 2024 and March 2025. After a brief dip in mid-2023, pollution levels rose again in early and late 2024. The stretch at ISBT Kashmere Gate also showed consistently high levels. BOD stayed above 40 mg/l for most of the last two years, peaking at 52 mg/l in November 2023.

Downstream of the Shahdara drain, where the Yamuna exits Delhi near Kalindi Kunj, BOD readings jumped from 56 mg/l in January 2023 to 127 mg/l in January 2025. This was the worst pollution level recorded at that point in three years.

New achievement
Yamuna river water is not fit for human use upstream of wazirabad berrage
Report @DPCC_Pollution April 2025 @DelhiJalBoard@LtGovDelhi@gupta_rekha@p_sahibsinghpic.twitter.com/AEFYx0ORFu

— Earth Warrior (@Earthworri1) May 14, 2025

Experts blame two main reasons for the decline in water quality. First, Delhi received little rainfall since the last monsoon. Less rain means less flow in the river, so pollutants don’t get diluted. Second, the city’s sewage treatment system hasn’t improved. Delhi has 37 sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a combined capacity of 764 million gallons per day (MGD), but the city produces about 792 MGD of sewage. The extra untreated sewage flows straight into the Yamuna.

“There hasn’t been any major upgrade in our sewage treatment plants,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, an activist with the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People. “Low rainfall has made the river weak and more polluted. The system can’t handle the waste.”

The Najafgarh drain remains one of the biggest sources of untreated sewage. To fix this, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has started work on 12 new STPs. These include a large 13 MGD plant in Chhawla and 11 smaller decentralised units with pumping stations. The goal is to stop untreated waste from reaching the river.

The DPCC carries out monthly checks on Yamuna’s water quality at eight locations, as ordered by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The latest data shows that pollution levels have not improved since 2023. Despite many clean-up plans, the city continues to fail in reducing toxic discharge into the river.

Earlier this year, the BJP-led Delhi government listed Yamuna cleaning as one of its top goals. But the current figures raise serious doubts about any real progress. As things stand, the Yamuna remains unfit for human use, even at stretches upstream of the Wazirabad barrage.

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