Quality, Standards and Testing

Water needed for human consumption, industrial purposes or other requirements must cater to certain minimum standards. The quality of any water is defined by its physical and chemical properties (characteristics). Physical properties include its appearance (colour, clarity and odour, perhaps also its taste) while the chemical properties refer to the constituents dissolved in it. Some of the physical properties are measurable and can be expressed in units of measurement while others like appearance, odour or taste are clearly subjective. However, all the chemical constituents can be measured accurately.

Drinking water must meet certain quality standards to safeguard the health of the people. The permissible and desirable limits of various parameters in drinking water have been detailed as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) standard specifications for potable water. These parameters are included in BIS-10500-1991. The various parameters covered include colour, odour, pH, total dissolved solids, hardness, alkalinity, elemental compounds such as iron, manganese, sulphate, nitrate, chloride, fluoride, arsenic, chromium, copper, cyanide, lead, mercury, zinc and coliform bacteria. The tolerance limits for inland surface waters for various classes of water use have been published by the Central Water Commission. Per ISI-IS: 2296-1982, the tolerance limits of parameters are specified as per classified use of water depending on various uses of water ranging from Class A to Class E.

What does the water that one drinks contain, what substances are dissolved in it and what are their safe limits? What are the issues that affect water quality? For more detailed information on all this, please read our FAQs on Rules, Regulations & Standards concerning water and Equipments used to measure water quality and quantity

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Featured Articles
September 2, 2024 Recommendations made by an expert committee, the NGT's subsequent orders, and a critical analysis of these developments
Drum screens at Bharwara sewage treatment plant (Image: India Water Portal)
January 30, 2024 The workshop provided inputs into the newly formed committee for “Standard Operation Procedure for Quality Testing of Drinking Water Samples at Sources and Delivery Points”
Sector partners come together to supplement the efforts of the government on water quality and surveillance (Image: Barefoot Photographers of Tilonia)
October 4, 2023 वैज्ञानिकों को पहली बार बादलों में सूक्ष्म प्लास्टिक (माइक्रोप्लास्टिक) की मौजूदगी के सबूत मिले हैं। शोधकर्ताओं का भी मानना है कि इसका जलवायु और समुद्री पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र पर गंभीर प्रभाव पड़ सकता है।
बादलों में प्लास्टिक के कण
July 8, 2022 Indian rivers are experiencing rising temperatures, which can lower the oxygen carrying capacity of their waters and spell doom for living organisms, small and large living in the waters.
The Karamana river in Thiruvanathapuram, Kerala (Image Source: India Water Portal)
June 22, 2021 Nonylphenol and its ethoxylates in drinking water: A health challenge
Water treatment facilities are incapable of removing many chemical compounds and need to be upgraded (Image: PxHere)
Groundwater management: Conceptual framework – A presentation by ACWADAM
Groundwater is a resource and is a part of a larger system of water resources, the hydrological cycle. It is also a part of the larger system of earth resources, the environment. Posted on 20 Sep, 2010 08:36 PM

This presentation by ACWADAM deals with the conceptual framework of groundwater management.

Manual on water supply and treatment - CPHEEO (MoUD)
A balancing act: providing adequate water and other amenities to the growing urban population Posted on 15 Sep, 2010 11:17 PM

This manual has been developed by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), a department under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and  serves as a standard guide in public health engineering by providing a code of day to day practice for public health engineers to follow.

Manual on sewage and sewerage treatment - CPHEEO (MoUD)
Dealing with the sanitation of the country with the increasing urbanisation and population. Posted on 15 Sep, 2010 11:07 PM

This manual has been prepared by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), a department under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and aims at meeting the professional needs of practising engineers dealing with the sanitation sector in the country, that focuses on achieving the goal of 'sanitation for all' within a reasonable timeframe.

The manual  is a revised version of the earlier one, which was developed in 1977 and was widely used by field engineers engaged in sewerage and sewage treatment. However, a need was felt to revise and update the earlier manual taking into consideration the advancement in technology.

Manual on operation and maintenance of water supply systems - CPHEEO (MoUD)
A manual for O& M managers and technicians to strengthen the technical, operational and managerial capabilities for better supply services Posted on 15 Sep, 2010 10:58 PM

This manual has been developed by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO), a department under the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and is intended primarily for the managers and technicians in-charge of the O & M of the urban drinking water supply systems.

The aim of the manual is to serve as a guide for strengthening the technical, operational and managerial capabilities required of the concerned personnel to operate and maintain water supply services as per acceptable norms of quantity, quality, sustainability, reliability and cost.

International conference on environment audit - Concerns about water pollution - CAG (2010)
A conference to deliberate on the causes of pollution, governmental action, societal role and responsibility and management of sustainable water systems Posted on 10 Sep, 2010 05:15 PM

CAGThis link on the CAG website provides the details of an international conference that was held on 15-16 March 2010, in the backdrop of the environmental audit proposed by the the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, for management and conservation of the environment .

The purpose of this conference was to deliberate on the causes of pollution, action taken by governments and civil society to address this and environmental, management and legal interventions needed to put lakes, rivers and ground water on the path of sustainability.

More than 20 experts on water and water pollution issues were invited to share their views as panelists during the conference. Apart from these distinguished panelists, the heads of supreme audit institutions from countries like Austria, Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan were also present to share their experiences regarding audit of water pollution in their countries.

Water for All - An educational booklet by Utthan
Easy steps to save water: Water for all Posted on 25 Aug, 2010 10:32 AM

Water for AllThis document is an educational booklet on water management, published by Utthan, which works towards empowering women's groups to seek clean and adequate quality of water for all. 

The booklet provides background information on water as an important natural resource and the importance of protecting and maintaining the quality and quantity of this natural resource.

The details have been explained in a manner that is simple and understandable and include illustrations that are self explanatory and easy to follow.

The booklet is divided into the following sections:

Emerging groundwater crisis in urban areas – A case study of Bangalore city
Urbanisation and its toll on the groundwater recharge; Bangalore losing in the bargain Posted on 16 Aug, 2010 07:14 AM

The paper by the Institute for Social and Economic Change documents the case of Ward No. 39 situated at the outskirts of the Bangalore city to understand the emerging groundwater crisis due to overdraft in urban areas. Bangalore has no perennial river, which resulted in the growth of many lakes, acting as a source of groundwater recharge earlier.

Modeling of a coastal aquifer in Goa using FEFLOW – A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
Modeling sea water in Goa to evaluate increase in groundwater development Posted on 14 Aug, 2010 11:49 AM

The study by National Institute of Hydrology attempts to model seawater intrusion using FEFLOW, an interactive finite element simulation system in the coastal area of Bardez taluka in North Goa and evaluate the impact of increasing groundwater development on the phenomenon. Coastal tracts of Goa are rapidly being transformed into settlement areas and the poor water supply facilities have encouraged people to develop their own sources of water by digging or boring wells.

Research reports of the National Institute of Hydrology (1996-2001) - Highlights
150 research reports of National Institute of Hydrology are now accessible at the India Water Portal Posted on 12 Aug, 2010 10:29 PM

National Institute of Hydrology

The India Water Portal is pleased to announce to its users, that a comprehensive archive of over two hundred and fifty technical research reports of the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee, have now been made available on the portal, and in the public domain for the first time.

48% industrial clusters in India are critically polluted: CPCB
CPCB's comprehensive environmental assessment of industrial clusters finds only 16% spots with normal pollution levels. Ankleshwar in Gujarat is the worst, while Digboi in Assam is the best. Posted on 10 Aug, 2010 11:38 PM

CPCB ReportA Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) is a very useful tool to capture the health dimensions of the environment including air, water and land. The CEPI is intended to act as an early warning tool and can help in categorising the industrial clusters/areas in terms of priority of planning needs for interventions.

This report by the Central Pollution and Control Board (CPCB) presents the results of the application of the CEPI to selected industrial clusters or areas.

The main objective of the study was to identify polluted industrial clusters or areas in order to take concerted action and to centrally monitor them at the national level. This was in order to improve the current status of environmental components such as air and water quality data, ecological damage, and visual environmental conditions.

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