| Quality
of Water: Just a click away!
|
| Over the past decade, there has been a remarkable advance in the way people think about the quality of water they drink. The new appreciation of the natural environment has focused attention on the vulnerability of water. A growing proportion of mankind now understands the importance of good quality water. And, availability of potable water is seen both as a right and a possibility that could be fulfilled. The increasing incidence of water-borne diseases is compelling man to assure good quality drinking water. |
Objective
of Water Quality Monitoring ¨
Projection of seasonal water quality of India
through |
Water being
a dynamic entity, its quality keeps varying with time. Thus, if water is fit for
drinking today, it is not necessary that it will continue to be so in the long
run or even tomorrow. But, emerging technologies have made it possible to know
the quality of water at a particular time and place. One such technology is a
portable field water testing kit–Jal-TARA, developed by Development
Alternatives. The kit can test 14 essential parameters for drinking and river
water quality. These include simple tests to assess the levels of specific
physical, chemical and biological components. A key feature of the kit being its
ability to test for bacterial contamination in drinking water supply.
It is important to provide information on the prevailing quality of water to the
concerned citizens. This requires continuous monitoring and timely dissemination
of information. Continuous monitoring can be done with varying frequency like
daily, monthly or seasonally. The most feasible one is monitoring the quality of
water seasonally. This helps to ascertain the changes in the quality of water
with the change of season.
Once the water quality is ascertained, its dissemination to the concerned
population is yet another major task, as all sections of the society depending
on that water source are affected by it. There are different ways in which this
can be done like articles in newspapers publishing reports regarding the quality
of water. These methods of dissemination are time bound and the quality of water
given is applicable only for that period.
One solution to the dynamic water quality data is building up a database that
gives the current quality of water. Such kind of database has been made possible
by children driven programmes like CLEAN-India. CLEAN-India is an environment
assessment, awareness and action programme conducted by Development Alternatives
for making the communities environmentally responsible and active. One of the
activities of CLEAN-India is Water Quality Monitoring. Here, the children
collect drinking water samples from different sources, which may be a handpump
in a slum or a tap in a market. During the process of sample collection,
children also survey the local environment to understand the possible sources of
contamination, if any. The Jal-TARA kit is used for analysis of water samples.
The results obtained are then validated in DA’s laboratory for problematic
sites. Various methods of dissemination are employed like publishing reports and
articles in the newspapers. Another method is through intensive water quality
monitoring. One of the sites selected is where the quality of water has been
recorded as ‘bad’ during the course of monitoring. About ten water samples
are collected from the same site and analysis done at the site itself. Immediate
feedback regarding the quality of water is given to the community. All possible
methods of purification and sources of contamination are also communicated at
the same time. Since the year 1998, about 250 such monitoring sites have been
established in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon and are monitored every season. This
helps the children to act as watch guards to the quality of water supplied to
the local population.
| The result of such rigorous monitoring is an interactive Geomatics Information System (GIS) based an digitised water quality map. The water quality map developed though the CLEAN-India programme displays the municipal and ground water quality for different areas in Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon. A cumulative index for the water quality has been prepared which helps the database to grade the quality of water as ‘Safe for use’, ‘Check before use’ and ‘Purify before use’. This is depicted in different colours like green for safe, yellow for check and red for purify so that even a lay man can relate to it. The water quality map also contains past data and therein helps in formulation of trends. The map is proposed to be put up at public places like airports, railway stations, schools, hospitals etc. from where it could be easily accessed by the larger public. The water quality map for the regions will also be soon available in CDs. |
Features of the Water quality Map developed for Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon by CLEAN-India. 1.
Displays the water quality for 250 monitoring stations 2. Latest water quality for a site is displayed 3. User friendly - Easy to operate 4. Reasons for deteriorating quality of water elaborated 5.
High Risk Areas displayed - like Fluoride or Nitrate 6.
Trend analysis – since the map is a complete 7.
Solutions given – household or other purification tips |
CLEAN-India
is a nation-wide programme with similar efforts being carried out in 17 more
towns and cities of the country ranging from Ladakh in the North to Nagercoil in
the South. In due course, similar maps will be developed for other CLEAN-India
centres.
All the information regarding water quality is just a few clicks away, at our
CLEAN website (www.cleanindia.org). You are
welcome to visit our site and provide us your valuable suggestions as we all
know that "Water is the elixir of life".q
T N Anuradha