Investigations conducted at government laboratories have
revealed increasing levels of contamination in well water, drinking
water supplied through tanker lorries and packaged drinking water.
Tests
at the Government Regional Analytical Laboratory at Kakkanad and the
Food Quality Monitoring Laboratory under the Council for Food Research
and Development in Konni between March 20 and April 5 have found that
water quality in 15 wells (from which water was drawn for supply in
apartments and commercial establishments in the city); 15 tanker lorries
used for drinking water supply and 18 brands of packaged drinking water
was ‘not satisfactory’.
Faecal coliform bacteria or
E.coli was found in wells located in Churnikara panchayat, Eloor, Aluva
and Kalamassery. Samples collected from a well near HMT at Toshiba
junction found that the coliform count was 1600 organisms/100 ml against
the prescribed limit of 10 organisms per 100 ml. Excessive acid content
was found in wells located in Mattakuzhi, Vaikom; Kuttikkattukara,
Eloor and Aluva.
Water supplied through tanker
lorries plying across the city was also found not satisfactory. Most of
the samples showed high acid content. Residual chlorine was above the
prescribed limit of 0.3 ppm (parts per million). Iron content was also
high in most of the samples tested at the Government Regional Analytical
Laboratory at Kakkanad. Coliform count was 1600 organisms/100 ml
against the upper limit of 10 organisms per 100 ml in a water sample.
Sixteen
brands of packaged drinking water in Ernakulam were found contaminated
with E.coli and coliform bacteria. Tests conducted at the Food Quality
Monitoring Laboratory under the Council for Food Research and
Development in Konni found that coliform count and E. coli were less
than 2 organisms/100 ml against the rule that coliform bacteria or E.
coli should not be present in packaged drinking water. Excessive acid
content was found in another packaged drinking water sample.
Reacting
to the increasing incidents of contamination of drinking water, Food
Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar said that stringent action would be
taken against tanker lorry operators found supplying contaminated water
to the public. He said the drive would be extended across all districts
in the coming days.
However, Mr. Prabhakar pointed
out that action against the packaged drinking water companies will be
initiated only after collecting ‘formal samples’. Only a marginal
presence of coliform bacteria was found in the samples tested at the
laboratory in Konni. But we will continue our drive against the
violators, with the scientific collection of water samples already
progressing in various areas, he said.
Source:http://www.thehindu.com
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