Purity of drinking water supplied by Delhi Jal Board (DJB) across the city is almost 100 per cent as the three Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) have certified it after conducting a thorough test.
Laboratory reports of the Municipal Corporations — East, North and South — have revealed that out of a total 10,733 samples lifted to test contamination this year, only 167 failed the purity test, which comes out to approximately to 1.56 per cent and confirms the remaining water samples to be totally safe for drinking. The water samples were collected by the public health department of the three MCDs from the beginning of the year.
As per the report, maximum samples of purest drinking water were found in East Delhi. The largest number of samples which were found to be pure were reported from East Delhi where a total of 3,473 samples were lifted betwwen January and May. Last year, only four samples had failed in the purity test out of 10,135 samples lifted for quality check in EDMC areas. Not a single sample lifted by the EDMC out of the 8,834 for testing had failed in purity test in 2014.
Almost 100 per cent water samples lifted by the North Corporation have also been found pure for drinking. Out of 2,983 water samples lifted this year by the public health department, only 42 failed the quality check. The civic body, also conducted a joint water testing along with the DJB and found that out of the total of 2,329 sample lifted for joint testing, 34 failed the quality test.
In areas falling under the SDMC, out of 4,277 water sample lifted by the civic body for testing this year, 128 were found contaminated or unfit for drinking, which comes to three per cent of the total samples collected. Of the 12,484 samples lifted in 2015, only 287 samples failed the purity test. In 2014, about five per cent, 586 of 11,721 water samples lifted by SDMC, had failed the purity test. Even in the joint testing of the water samples by the SDMC and DJB, only 15 samples out of the total of 878 failed the test this year.
The DJB officials said the government was committed to provide pure drinking water to one and all in Delhi. “We follow standard cleaning protocol, which is reflected in the reports of the three Municipal Corporations and it also shows our commitment to not compromise with the water quality. We have in place our own mechanism, which checks water quality at different stages starting at the water treatment plants before it is supplied to households in the city,” said an official.