Assessment of water quality in the piped water supply system in Bhubaneswar city

Abstract

Drinking water of right quantity and approved quality is the basic need for the development of any civilization. As per SDG 6 it is essential to provide equitable water in terms of quality and quantity to every citizen. Due to the huge growth of population along with the increase of infrastructure, educational institutions, industrial growth in the city of Bhubaneswar there is threat to the quality of the supply water. In this context the water sample has been collected from 67 wards of Bhubaneswar from the focused areas near to industry, market complex, educational institutions and near to the construction site in a particular ward. Nearly 15 water quality parameters have been tested and analysed using weighted arithmetic water quality index method. The study found that around 10.46% deviation in pH, 22.69% in hardness, 10.36% in conductivity, 19.16% in DO from the standard limit as per the guidelines of WHO. Also, it was concluded that no more threat to the heavy metal contamination like Lead copper and zinc in any of the samples. After discussion with Public Health Engineering Department, it was found that the deviation of the parameters is due to the ageing of the pipeline system which is under the consideration of their work. It shows that system needs to be monitored frequently for water quality related issues.