Biological Pollution

This evaluation study report by the Programme Evaluation Organisation, Planning Commission attempts to document the major achievements in rural water services under Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission. It does so by assessing the extent of coverage and access to improved services in the rural areas.

This paper published in the journal

The study of the hydrochemistry of the Manasbal lake was done to find out whether the lake water was fit for drinking, irrigation and other purposes.

This document by the World Health Organisation, for the first time, sets forth global criteria to evaluate whether a household water treatment option reduces waterborne pathogens sufficiently to protect health. Through use of a risk-based framework and by emphasizing the philosophy of incremental improvement, it is intended to provide implementers and policy-makers with an evidence-based and pragmatic approach to select options suited to local conditions.

Household water treatment interventions may play an important role in protecting public health where existing water sources, including those delivered via a piped network or other improved sources, are untreated, are not treated properly or become contaminated during distribution or storage. Household water treatment applications are a range of technologies, devices or methods employed for the purposes of treating water at the household level or at the point of use in other settings, such as schools, health-care facilities and other community locations. Point-of-use water treatment is another term used for household water treatment.

Guest post: Shwetha Kamath (India Water Portal Volunteer)

About 74 per cent of India's total population, currently about 1.25 billion, live in rural areas. More than one third of the water available to them is not potable. In a grim reminder that poor quality of drinking water leads to serious health problems, India has admitted that about 180,000 rural populated areas are afflicted by diseases which are caused due to impure, toxic organic and inorganic substances including tri-halo methane, chlorine, etc. Some states have reported multiple contaminations in drinking water and there is no doubt that the current water situation in India will get much, much worse unless suitable solutions are sought. Most existing purification methods not only remove the impurities but drain out the essential minerals as well. Moreover, they are expensive and require extensive maintenance. Thus a natural filter comprising of bamboo, gravel, pebble and other locally available natural adsorbents is a great alternative to carry out water purification. What makes this filter unique is the use of bamboo charcoal which is not commonly used in any filter designed for domestic purposes.

This report by the Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) is based on the analysis of Multi-District Assessment of Water Safety (M-DAWS) carried out in 8 districts of Gujarat (Vadodara,Valsad, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Kachchh, Surat, Ahmedabad and Dangs) , where ensuring adequate and safe drinking water to the people has been looked upon as a huge challenge needing urgent action during years 2007 and 2008 .

The Multi-District Assessment of Water Safety (M-DAWS) programme was undertaken by Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) with financial and technical support from UNICEF.

This season in the region is commonly referred to as – Barh (flood). For centuries local people have treated it as ‘a way of life’, and found ways to deal with it. Post independence, this ‘way of life’ gradually transformed into an assured annual devastation. The once self-sufficient communities in the flood plains have been relegated to being highly dependent on sources external to the village for their survival during floods.

 The study attempted to understand the phenomenon of water contamination in the village by using GIS as a tool to locate and map water supply and sewage distribution systems in the village, in relation to human and animal dwellings, their wastes, sanitary practices and their connections with drinking water quality for a clearer understanding of the connections between these factors and possible

The WHO guidelines for drinking water quality aim to protect public health and the key way to ensure this is through the adoption of Water Safety Plans (WSP). WSP includes setting of health targets, risk analysis and its assessment to identify priority hazardous scenarios and management of the risk.

 Plasmid-encoding Carbapenemase-resistant Metallo-B-Lactamase (PCM or NDM-1) is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant, not only to a broad range of antibiotics such as carbapenems and other β-lactam, but also to multiple other antibiotic classes, leaving very few treatment options available, when a person gets infected with such bacteria.