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An Aquatic Star is
Born : JalTARA
a
low cost water quality monitoring kit
Dr K Vijaya
Lakshmi
Why
water quality monitoring ?
Water is
essential for human existence. The quality of water we drink is
being affected by different kinds of pollutants ‑ effluents from
industry, seepage from sewers, effluents with pesticides and
fertilisers, etc. Every year thousands of people fall prey to
waterborne diseases resulting in a great deal of human suffering
and loss of productivity.
Sometimes the
natural source of water itself may not be fit to drink.
So how can we
be sure that the water we drink is safe ?
Quality
testing equipment is usually large, stationary and highly
sophisticated, calling for qualified personnel and huge sums of
money. Moreover, such equipment is not accessible to rural
communities, NGOs and other peoples’ organisations.
What is
the Jal TARA ?
To help
people monitor water quality and take action, we have introduced a
simple‑to‑use, portable kit. The Jal TARA can be used by anybody who
has been educated upto class eight, to test water from any source ‑
river, pond, tap, well, etc. Preliminary physico‑chemical tests can
be performed to show whether the water is fit for drinking. The
kit is light (less than 5 kg) and comes in a sturdy elegant case
that can be carried anywhere for conducting tests. It has enough
reagents to perform the tests 100 times, which means that water
quality at different times of the year can be monitored.
What can
the Jal TARA do ?
This little
kit can test 14 parameters ‑ pH, temperature, turbidity, chlorides,
fluorides, dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, residual
chlorine, ammonia, iron, hardness, coliform bacteria and benthic
diversity.
A unique
feature of this kit is that the coliform bacteria test can be
performed easily without an incubator. The benthic diversity test is
another unusual feature: it allows you to gauge the fitness of a
waterbody for aquatic life on the basis of the diversity of benthic
organisms in the water body. The assumption is that a polluted
water body would have very low diversity of benthic organisms.
Is the
Jal TARA safe to use ?
Absolutely!
To encourage school children to take an active role in water quality
monitoring, we have tried to use only plasticware instead of
conventional glassware. The reagents used are safe too, with
minimum use of concentrated acids. Pipettes have been replaced
with syringes for measurement of liquids; so there is no fear that
you may inadvertantly swallow a reagent. The kit comes with
leak‑proof break‑free bottles which can be re‑used several times.
And most importantly, the kit comes with a step by step instruction
manual which gives lucid description of the tests, instructions to
prepare the reagents and the significance of the parameters being
tested. Adequate safety instructions are provided in the manual
for the safe handling of the kit. The best way to use the kit in
schools is under the supervision of a teacher and we recommend that
the tests be explained to and performed by only children over 13
years of age.
Who can
use the Jal TARA?
The Jal TARA
is meant for anyone who is concerned by the quality he/she uses and
is ready to initiate community action. The kit comes with a
complete set of reagents and when necessary, they can be replaced at
any school / college laboratory using the instructions manual.
Queries and doubts during use of the kit will be willingly answered
by our scientists, including a free demonstration of its use.
Where
can you get the Jal TARA ?
The Jal TARA
is available at Development Alternatives, New Delhi, for Rs. 2000
(excluding packing and postage). q
Dr. K Vijaya Lakshmi
works in the Environment Systems Branch of Development Alternatives
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