By Maitphang Syiem
What is it that we ought to know? That’s a question to begin with. It sounds like something is to be uncovered, doesn’t it? The answers are there but one must take challenging roads to find them. The above-mentioned exclamation relates to an issue which is of grave concern to every layman and which will also require a questioning mindset. Do we bother to question something which can affect our human existence and welfare? The crux of the matter is that it is a common issue of “access to safe domestic water.” It is good to know that a mission is already in place where every household will have access to water for consumption, but merely providing water will not serve the purpose of the mission. The public needs water deemed fit for use. On a sarcastic note, this reminds us of a few lines from, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” written by an English poet S.T Coleridge which says “Water, water, everywhere, not a drop to drink”. So, the situation for us perhaps may be as described by S.T Coleridge. This also reminds us of a statement made by someone out of frustration , “The names of many places across our state start with the prefix “Um” (Water) such as Umsning, Umpling, Umdihar etc but none of them have enough “Um.”
The sad truth is that quite a number of these villages don’t have enough supply of water for domestic consumption, perhaps for many intricate reasons which cannot be elaborated here. However, sarcasm aside and going by the statement, “Water is the elixir of life,” it is indeed an indispensable state of matter which supports life forms, and there is no other option to think of if life has to exist on this beautiful planet. No wonder our man-made machines are placed into deep space and planets to detect the presence of water. On the other side of the story, if one tries to explore one can still witness areas and localities in the Shillong agglomeration which till date have long queues of young folks with buckets of all sizes in their hands waiting for their turn to get water from public taps. At times even the old folks too are part of the queue just so they can get the so-called “elixir of life”. The water woes will increase from time to time with the expansion of construction into water catchments and forests. This would be a challenge which needs collective attention and it definitely calls for an exclusive and continuous Research and Development (R&D).
Reiterating the point about water reaching every household it is great if the State could provide water to every nook and corner of our state and hopefully the current Jal Jeevan Mission Scheme should accomplish the entrusted mission in letter and spirit. Now if one goes by the book, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number six says “Clean Water and Sanitation,” so the point to note is that providing access to “safe water for domestic consumption” must be a priority for all concerned.
Referring to the reports of the recent findings on the water quality of Shillong City, one can speculate and also conclude that it is unfit for domestic consumption. This is a great public health risk which if not addressed at the earliest may perhaps also lead to a public health disaster. Heaven forbid that should not occur, but yes if not attended to this impending disaster will strike eventually.
In the context of Shillong city in particular and within urban areas much of the piped water into homes comes from designated sources managed wholly by the concerned authority – the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). However, in the rural areas water sources are managed by communities. The quality of water may differ from region to region for the rural areas which, however, are not devoid of impurities. However, water for the Shillong City comes from a designated source which is treated and supplied to the public. The other additional source for domestic water in many of the areas with acute shortages are met by water vendors. Hypothetically, if the water is being treated before it is supplied, why do we still get negative outputs? Therefore, one must analytically look into the problem. It is quite obvious that the water of Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS) undergoes cascaded treatment, from the primary, secondary to tertiary processes, so that at the point source, the water is supposedly considered to be fit. But a random view of the water reaching our water taps finds it unfit for drinking perhaps due to multiple factors such as seepage of impurities or breakage, corrosion of water pipelines during transportation on a random chance.
This hypothesis opens up a provision for such analytical findings. Perhaps one can find the variables which significantly lead to the point of discussion. The fact that such impurities have been detected in water is an alert that all concerned must look into the matter more seriously. However, as common people, our journey should not end with knowing about the impurities present in the water coming into our homes. We should try to understand the parameters that define the water which is unfit for consumption. The crux of the matter is on the quality of water. It is imperative on our part to know such benchmarks, so let us have a look and inform ourselves. On simple grounds of understanding, we are talking about the standards that a water should have and such standards are prescribed from time to time globally by various institutions dealing with standardisation. Water quality also has a class in itself such as Class A,B,C,D and E, so the type which is of concern for human consumption is A and C. Going by the BIS (Bureau Of Indian Standards (IS 10500:2012 Drinking Water Specification) the physical parameters such as the Colour should be 5 Hazen Units (Acceptable Limit), Odour should be agreeable, the pH value (Acid /Alkaline nature) acceptable limit is 6.5 to 8.5, Turbidity should not be above 1.0 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity unit) and TDS should not exceed 500 mg/l. Total Hardness should not surpass 200 mg/l benchmark, Iron content should be below 0.3 mg/l.
The Central Pollution Control Board, the apex body and watchdog for environmental matters sets the benchmark for total coliforms (Most Probable Number) MPN/100ml should be Nil, the pH value must be between 6.5 to 8.5, dissolved Oxygen 6 mg/l and Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20C 2 mg/l or less. The parameters are explicitly defined; perhaps one can assess which parameter of the water that we consume was not cleared.
In this context, the WHO has issued, “Guidelines for drinking-water quality, 4th edition”, which emphasises on a framework for safe drinking water and it exclusively mentions that, “The most effective means of consistently ensuring the safety of a drinking-water supply is through the use of a comprehensive risk assessment and risk management approach that encompasses all steps in water supply from catchment to consumer.” The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation likewise has put forth a Uniform Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Protocol and have elaborated the guidelines. Referring to theses guidelines and connecting them to the kind of scenario that our Shillong City has, it does present a scope for rigorous inspection and surveillance of all utilities associated with the supply of water (pre/post monsoon).
As water is a subject of public health, everybody concerned will have to rectify this matter and there should be no room for complacency. It is suggested that these guidelines may be referred to from time to time in letter and spirit to improve upon the current water supply system and reinforce safety measures taken.
(The writer is a Geospatial Technology Expert and all views are personal)