There痴 serious danger in your drinking water……..Sujit Mahamulkar & Bhavika Jain
Hazard Six out of 10 samples collected by HT from homes and tested at civic lab found to be full of bacteria
Hazard Six out of 10 samples collected by HT from homes and tested at civic lab found to be full of bacteria
Six out of 10 water samples collected by Hindustan Times from across Mumbai were found to be contaminated with bacteria that could cause stomach, intestinal and eye infections. The samples, collected from housing societies, were tested at the civic laboratory at Dadar. The samples from Chembur, Mahim, Andheri, Borivli, Bandra and Ghatkopar had A.aerogenes, a bacterium found in soil, surface water and sewage. Samples from Napean Sea Road, Worli, Powai and Mulund had no contaminants.
On August 6, Hindustan Times had reported that water contamination in the city in 2009-10 had doubled from the levels recorded the previous year. The civic environment status report recorded contamination levels at 26.10%, up from 13.80% in 2008-09 and 12.47% in 2007-08.
The state government said it would form a committee to look into the issue but that has not yet been done.
展ater contamination is a concern. We are trying to address all complaints on a priority basis,� said Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta, who is in charge of the Hydraulic Department.
Water supplied to the city is chlorinated and lab officials said it should have no coliform organisms, another type of bacteria that can cause stomach and intestinal infections. But the six contaminated samples showed high coliform levels.
The highest was recorded at Mahim � 27 most probable number (MPN)/100 millilitres (ML) � while the other five samples showed a range of 14-17 MPN/100 ML.
Make sure you use a purifier or boil your water before drinking. 典he presence of these organisms means the water is not well chlorinated or that soil or sewage water has seeped into the pipes,� said a senior lab officer with the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Why your water isn’t safe…..Sujit Mahamulkar & Bhavika Jain
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials blamed the high level of water contamination in the city to the old distribution network, leaks and cracks in the pipelines. The Hindustan Times collected 10 water samples from housing societies across the city and got them tested at the civic lab at Dadar. Six of the samples – collected from Chembur, Mahim, Andheri, Borivli, Bandra and Ghatkopar – were found to be unfit for drinking. They were contaminated with the A.aerogenes and coliform bacteria that cause stomach, intestinal and eye infections.
Hydraulic Department officials said on condition of anonymity as they are not authorized to speak to the media that the BMC supplies water till the main road of an area. From there, separate pipelines are laid to individual buildings. Contamination could occur in these pipelines too.
Even in the Environmental Status Report (2009-2010), the findings of which Hindustan Times reported on August 6, the BMC said there was seepage of sewage water into the supply pipelines, corrosion of the pipe and defects in valves leading. This led to an increase in the contamination level to 26.10% from 13.80% in 2008-2009.
“We will have to ascertain the source of contamination in these cases [the samples that Hindustan Times collected]. I will direct my officers to examine the spots,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Aseem Gupta, who heads the Hydraulic Department.
Officials also said that the BMC’s 4,000-km water distribution network had several flaws. For instance, officials said, the presence of coliform organisms could be due to a problem in the chlorination system.
Water from the lakes is pumped to the Bhandup filtration plant. After a series of filtration procedures, the water is stored in 33 reservoirs across the city. It is pumped to your home from these reservoirs.
The reservoirs, officials said, were old and cracked, which too could lead to contamination. Gupta, however, ruled out contamination at this stage.
“Reservoir staff has been instructed to chlorinate water before it is supplied,” said a hydraulic engineer.
Officials said work on replacing the old pipelines is being carried out on a war footing. Also, pipelines are being replaced with tunnels to avoid ruptures.
Rs 690 crore has been set aside for pipeline replacement and repairing reservoirs.
The 250-km, 100-year-old Tansa main, one of Mumbai’s oldest distribution lines, ruptured over 300 times last year. Replacement work began in 2008, but so far only 42 km is complete.