Ever had trouble getting the water from your well or tap tested? It may not be that difficult a proposition anymore.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) expects to have seven quality control and testing laboratories for water ready in different parts of Thiruvananthapuram district by the end of April this year. They will complement the existing Quality Control District Laboratory on the KWA's Jala Bhavan campus at Vellayambalam and help to significantly improve the quality of water supplied in the district, a senior KWA official said.
Locations
Of the seven, five are sub-district laboratories — at Observatory Hills (for Nemom block), at the KWA sub-divisional office at Varkala for the Varkala block, at the Attingal water supply divisional office for the Chirayinkeezhu block, at Vizhinjam for the Athiyannoor block, and at Aruvikkara for the Nedumangad block.
The remaining two are under construction alongside the 86 mld water treatment plant (WTP) and the 74 mld JICA WTP, also at Aruvikkara. These seven labs, currently in different stages of construction, are among 70 new facilities that are being established across the State by the KWA. Apart from ensuring the quality of water supplied by the KWA, the public can also get water samples tested by remitting a prescribed fee.
Under JJM
The labs are being constructed with funding of approximately ₹1.2 crore each under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Activities form an important component under the Centrally assisted JJM.
Testing the water you drink assumes importance when you take into account the diverse impacts of human activities on soil and water. The presence of contaminants in water, for example, can affect health. The labs will be equipped to test for 17 physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters, including colour, odour, turbidity, pH level, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, total coliform, E.coli, chloride, acidity, sulphate, fluoride, iron and nitrate.
''The labs will help in the internal improvement of the KWA and serve to make its water treatment plants more efficient. The lab for the Nemom block will undergo audit by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) on February 26 and 27 and the lab at the 86 mld WTP on March 12 and 13. All the labs will undergo NABL audits,'' R.V. Santhosh Kumar, Executive Engineer, Quality Control Division, said. As the new labs are being constructed on the sites of water tanks of the KWA, the utility did not have to scout for new land.
The technical staff will be appointed on contract and each lab will have chemists, bacteriologists, quality and technical managers, sampling and lab assistants and data entry operator.
