Residential societies in Ahmedabad should think twice before combining municipal water and groundwater in their sumps because the groundwater in the villages nearby has been determined to be unsafe for human consumption and can cause a number of major health problems.
The Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB) has issued warnings to up to 33 villages in the vicinity of Ahmedabad, asking them to stop using their borewells for water.
On several days in July, water samples were taken from these locations, and each sample was then evaluated for 15 different criteria. The samples were subsequently determined to be unfit for ingestion.
The parameters on which the quality was measured include total dissolved salts, hardness, chloride, nitrate, fluoride, alkalinity, and pH levels.
Water samples were collected from these areas on different days in July and all the samples were tested for 15 parameters. These samples were then deemed unfit for consumption.
The parameters on which the quality was measured include total dissolved salts, hardness, chloride, nitrate, fluoride, alkalinity, and pH levels.
In Kumarkhan village, fluoride and sulphate levels were detected to be 2.26 milligram per litre (mg/l) and 681 mg/l far above the permissible limits are 1.5 mg/l and 400 mg/l.
Similarly, water samples from Abasana village were found to consist of high total dissolved salts, at 8,094 mg/l, while the permissible limit is 2,000 mg/l. The level of chloride in the groundwater in this village was 4,868 mg/l while the safe limit is 1,000 mg/l.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) supplies 1,369 million litres of drinking water to roughly 72 lakh citizens daily. Meanwhile, every day, the municipal corporation receives 1,739 million litres of sewage at its treatment plants.
This difference indicates that Ahmedabad residents draw 370 million litres of extra water from the ground every day.
Prafull Mehta, a farmer who had filed an RTI query on the groundwater status report, said that the citizens should be alarmed by the fact that all 32 samples have been declared unfit.
In Kumarkhan village, fluoride and sulphate levels were detected to be 2.26 milligram per litre (mg/l) and 681 mg/l far above the permissible limits are 1.5 mg/l and 400 mg/l.
Similarly, water samples from Abasana village were found to consist of high total dissolved salts, at 8,094 mg/l, while the permissible limit is 2,000 mg/l. The level of chloride in the groundwater in this village was 4,868 mg/l while the safe limit is 1,000 mg/l.
The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) supplies 1,369 million litres of drinking water to roughly 72 lakh citizens daily. Meanwhile, every day, the municipal corporation receives 1,739 million litres of sewage at its treatment plants.
This difference indicates that Ahmedabad residents draw 370 million litres of extra water from the ground every day.
Prafull Mehta, who is a farmer by profession had filed an RTI query on the groundwater status report. After seeing the test results he said that the citizens should be alarmed by the fact that all 33 samples have been declared unfit.