Every individual has the right to clean and safe drinking water. Unfortunately, the natural resources that support life on Earth have been severely poisoned. According to NSO data, two-thirds of Indian households use unsafe and untreated water. Only 8% of homes boil water before consuming it, which is inefficient for eliminating pollutants. Every country must achieve this target by 2030, according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Taking this into consideration, the Bureau of Indian Standards developed a special standard for safe drinking water. A recent analysis, however, revealed that 13 metros receive polluted water.
Water Safety Standards
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has established drinking water quality standards in India to ensure that people have access to clean drinking water. It is critical that drinking water sources be tested at regular intervals to confirm whether they meet the mandated criteria or not, and if not, the level of contamination/unacceptability and follow-up is necessary.
According to a recent BIS water quality test, 13 communities have the most hazardous water. The tap water in Delhi is the most dangerous of the cities where samples were collected. According to a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) water quality study, the national capital stands at the bottom of the list. Water samples from 13 cities, including Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Lucknow, were tested. The water quality test was failed by all of the cities. In fact, Mumbai is the only city where tap water samples satisfied all of the metrics under the Indian Standard, which is the drinking water standard so far.
BIS has standards in the Uniform Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Protocol, according to the Central Ground Water Board. In the absence of another source, this criterion has two limitations: acceptable limits and allowed limits. If any of the parameters exceed the limit, the water is deemed unsafe for human consumption.
In general, the BIS deems water unsafe for drinking if it is bacteriologically polluted (E-coli and viruses, for example), or if chemical contamination exceeds maximum allowed values.
Together, we can provide the most recent BIS drinking water requirements. According to the latest reports,the water quality standards are as follows;
| Test parameter | Acceptable limit | Permissible limit |
| pH value | 6.5-8.5 | No relaxation |
| Turbidity | 1 | 5 |
| Total hardness | 200 | 600 |
| E.coil presence or absence | In no 100ml sample shall it be traceable. | No detected in any 100ml sample |
| Total iron | 0.3 | No relaxation |
| Taste | Agreeable | Agreeable |
| Odor | Agreeable | Agreeable |
Provision of clean drinking water with a focus on health protection is especially important in rural India due to chemical and microbiological danger. The most effective way to ensure safe drinking water is to implement a water safety plan that uses water quality data to plan preventative and remedial activities.
With the necessity of keeping drinking water quality in mind, the Government of India has set aside 3% of state allocations for the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) for water quality monitoring and surveillance.This protocol serves as a guideline for factors such as the minimal infrastructure needed for building space, people, instruments, sample and testing methods, and so on. This would contribute to the prevailing urgent need to strengthen and establish laboratories in order to assure the purity of drinking water.
The Final note:
It is critical that everyone is aware of these water quality guidelines. Otherwise, future generations will suffer much more. We are the final generation to receive at least 1% cleaned water. If we are aware of this water quality, we may be able to pass on greater health to future generations.
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