City’s groundwater free of impurities, reveals study

To assess the quality of groundwater of the city, around 80 water samples from various parts of the city and its periphery were collected. The samples were collected from November 2014 to February 2015.

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The samples were sent to a government laboratory in the city for testing. The purpose was to test groundwater samples for the presence of hard metal and other contaminants.

“The water was found to be free of contaminants and the presence of hard metal is within permissible limits. The groundwater of the city and surrounding areas is fit for consumption,” said Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, in-charge of the research.

“Earlier, there were doubts that the level of arsenic is high in the city’s water. However, our tests revealed that it is well with in the limits,” said Dr Khaiwal.

As per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the permissible limit of Lead is 0.01mg/l, Arsenic is 0.01mg/l , Iron is 0.3mg/l and Nickel is 0.02mg/l.

According to the findings of the report, in Chandigarh, the content of lead, arsenic and nickel was found to be 0.001mg/l , and Iron was 0.34mg/l . It is far below the permissible limits.

“The groundwater is fit for drinking, however, we found that groundwater from shallow tubewells and handpumps is not fit for drinking. It has bacteriological contamination,” said another researcher.

In 2013, Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee also took samples of groundwater from various location of the city to test. The report mentions that the water quality of Chandigarh lies within the limits as prescribed by the BIS standards of drinking water.

“Water analysis conducted by the Central Ground Board of the shallow and deep aquifers of the city shows the absence of any impurity including heavy metals,” reads the report of CPCC.