Question mark on water quality as contamination threat looms over Bengaluru Premium

Last week, residents of Sultanpalya had to empty their sumps and storage tanks as the water was stinking

Sweating it out in the scorching summer heat, compelled to judiciously use scarce water, Bengalureans are always under a looming threat: Drinking water contamination, which plays havoc with their lives every time sewage enters the system. Is there a quick way to spot the mixture, arrest the accelerating slide in water quality and minimise damage?

In localities across Bengaluru, contamination is a disturbing daily threat. Trenches dug up for sewage lines that cut through water lines, flooded sewage drains overflowing or intruding into leaky Cauvery lines, old, worn-out pipes long past their expiry date … Inevitably, contamination drives a sudden spike in the maximum permissible Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and microbial mix in water.

Last week, this mixture had the entire Sultanpalya locality in a tizzy. Residents had to empty their sumps and storage tanks to flush out the stinking water.

One resident complained, “Returning from a trip, I found that my 2,000-litre sump was stinking. Unaware, my daughter consumed the water and fell sick for days. We had to rely on costly water tankers. There was no help from authorities.”

Entry of water-contaminated-by-sewage can disrupt the entire supply system of a household.

“Larvae enter the tank, and entire lines will have to be cleaned. It can lead to all kinds of health complications. In fact, small amounts of sewage can contaminate entire neighbourhoods,” says B. Nagappa, a former scientific officer attached to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

At the consumer level, early detection of contamination is critical. Water expert and Biome Environmental Solutions founder S. Vishwanath talks about a simple method to spot microbial contamination: The Residual Chlorine Test, where a few drops of a solution added to water in a handheld device changes the colour and indicates the level of residual chlorine.