With more than 20 cases of water-borne diseases being registered in the city every day, experts have attributed this shocking trend to the Millennium City's water being totally unfit for drinking.
"Since the monsoon arrived, we have been seeing 20 cases of gastro, diarrhea and vomiting daily. This is because Gurgaon lacks water hygiene," said Dr Rakesh Kumar, medical officer, Gurgaon Civil Hospital.
Experts say the low water hygiene here is due to three major reasons - firstly, the city's depleting water table has given rise to an increase in total dissolved solids (TDS) content in the water; secondly, the haphazard residential and commercial development, and finally, the mixing of sewage water with drinking water as both pipes run alongside each other.
"The forms of water contamination found in Gurgaon are chemical, bacterial and industrial. But a layman cannot identify the contamination as it cannot be gauged by mere taste, smell or colour," said Gauhar Mehmood, a professor at the civil engineering department, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
Mehmood, who has been conducting numerous studies on Gurgaon's water since 1985, has also designed the rainwater harvesting pit master plan for the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.
{{/usCountry}}Mehmood, who has been conducting numerous studies on Gurgaon's water since 1985, has also designed the rainwater harvesting pit master plan for the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.
{{/usCountry}}With 70 per cent of Gurgaon's water supply being obtained from under the ground, the water table has been naturally contaminated due to the increase in TDS - the essential minerals and salts found in water. "For a very long time, there was no government or administrative intervention when it came to use of groundwater and the water recharge mechanism is also at its infant stage. Depletion is a major cause for the increase in the salinity of the water," Mehmood explained. The desirable amount of TDS ranges between 500 mg per litre and 2,000 mg per litre. But, in Gurgaon it even exceeds 7,000 mg per litre.
But natural contamination is still less harmful as compared to industrial contamination. With many sewage lines left open and industrial discharge taking place on the surface, carcinogenic chemicals tend to percolate to the water table below, thereby contaminating the source.