Water quality testing framework rolled out

Citizens can now get the water quality in their own taps tested at reasonable rates, as part of a monitoring framework rolled out by the Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission.

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The “drinking water quality testing, monitoring and surveillance framework and guidelines” released mandate a network of National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited labs to be set up in every State, district and block over the next year.

At the panchayat level, teams of women in the village water and sanitation committees will be given field testing kits.

State governments can include private players as part of the network, but the Centre has capped tariffs to ensure that they remain within the reach of the common man.

A package for all the 16 water quality parameters would cost ₹600. Turnaround time for chemical tests should not be more than 24 hours, while testing for the biological contaminants will produce results within 48 hours.

All results of testing will be fed into the Water Quality Information Management System (WQMIS), a portal developed with the support of the Indian Council of Medical Research.