The Hindu 17.02.2014
Drinking water safety week campaign planned
Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board (TWAD) will
soon launch a drinking water safety week campaign across the State for
free-of-cost testing of quality of drinking water samples.
Over
six lakh samples of drinking water from all prominent sources will be
tested during the campaign, which will also educate people on water
quality standards, the quality of water they are drinking and the
diseases likely to be caused by the poor quality of water.
“This
is the first time in the country that such a campaign is being held,”
S. Maruthu Pandian, TWAD Board Executive Engineer, Rural Water Supply,
told
The Hindu
on Sunday. TWAD Board will be spending Rs. 3.55 crore on the campaign.
Water
samples from hand-pumps, mini-power pumps, power pumps, overhead tanks
and public fountains will be collected through the pump operators of the
local bodies concerned. Besides, people would also be encouraged to
bring samples of drinking water for testing at the offices of the local
bodies or at schools in the locality. Mobile teams will also be deployed
for sample collection.
The testing will be done for four days for which adequate awareness will be conducted through rallies.
Testing kits
“We
have planned to ask school children to bring water samples for testing.
The testing will be done by teachers trained to use the field water
testing kits. The results will be made public within 15 minutes,” Mr.
Pandian said.
All the results of the tests will be uploaded on the TWAD Board website.
“It
is the right of every citizen to know the quality of water he/she is
drinking and this campaign is only to ensure that,” Mr. Pandian added.
The
field water testing kit developed (patented registered) by the TWAD
Board will be used for testing the water samples. Each kit, which costs
Rs. 2,100, will be able to test 100 samples of water for 15 parameters
like pH value, total hardness, content of chemicals like fluoride and
nitrate.
Quality mapping
After
the campaign, the TWAD Board officials will undertake water quality
mapping. “Wherever the quality of water is found to be unpotable, the
officials of local body concerned will be advised to look for
alternative source of water,” the official said.
