Water stock high, but how much of it can we drink?

MUMBAI: Good rain has lakes overflowing and the city has enough water to last it for the next 300 days. But how much of this water can we drink?

MUMBAI: Good rain has lakes overflowing and the city has enough water to last it for the next 300 days. But how much of this water can we drink?

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A monthly report prepared by the civic body shows about 10% water samples collected in July and 9% collected in June were not safe to drink.

The civic body’s water testing laboratory in Dadar tests 100 to 120 water samples collected every day from all 24 wards by the health, hydraulic engineering and leak detection cells. These samples are tested for 24 parameters such as odour, colour, chlorine content, hardness of the water and presence of chemicals, before they are declared fit for drinking.

The water samples collected in the island city over the past two months was most unfit.

At Lalbaug and Parel, 10% samples was unfit in June and 30% in July; Colaba and Churchgate saw 27% unfit in June and 15% in July; Mulund and areas around it recorded 23% unfit water samples in June and 18% in July. Santacruz, Khar, Bandra, Borivli and Dahisar recorded 15% unfit water samples over the two months.

Civic sources at a monthly review meeting with civic chief Ajoy Mehta also revealed 1% E. coli (bacteria that causes food poisoning, kidney failure) on an average was present in the samples collected across the 24 wards. While health department officials told Mehta the contamination was not a serious issue, but still needed to be addressed, some civic body sources said they receive few complaints.

“There are hardly any complaints of contamination. Wherever such complaints are recorded, they are checked and fixed at the earliest. There are various samples also collected from hawkers and street vendors, which may have led to the unfit results. We are trying to give better quality water,” said a civic official, not wishing to be named.