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Water for Bathing purpose
Bathing in rivers, ghats, and other water bodies in India is quite commonplace, especially in rural areas. Several rivers are considered holy and each year, millions of people take a dip in these waters. In 2019, 240 million visitors took a dip in the river Ganges during the Kumbh Mela held in Prayagraj. It is, therefore, critical for human health, to ensure that the water for bathing purposes is of suitable quality.
The primary water quality criteria for bathing water has been set out by Central Government in India. Choksi Laboratories Ltd. provides continuous water quality monitoring through its field labs and technicians.
The water quality indicators are specified as follows:
| Test Parameter | Limits | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Faecal Coliform MPN/100 ml | 500 (desirable) 2500 (Maximum Permissible) | The desirable and permissible limits are suggested to allow for fluctuation in environmental conditions such as seasonal change, changes in flow conditions etc. |
| Faecal Streptococci MPN/100 ml | 500 (desirable) 2500 (Maximum Permissible) | The desirable and permissible limits are suggested to allow for fluctuation in environmental conditions such as seasonal change, changes in flow conditions etc. |
| pH | Between 6.5 -8.5 | The range provides protection to the skin and delicate organs like eyes, nose, ears etc. which are directly exposed during outdoor bathing |
| Dissolved Oxygen | 5 mg/L or more | The minimum dissolved oxygen concentration of 5 mg/1 ensures reasonable freedom from oxygen consuming organic pollution immediately upstream which is necessary for preventing production of anaerobic gases (obnoxious gases) from sediment. |
| Biochemical Oxygen demand, 3 day, 27°C | 3 mg/1 or less | The Biochemical Oxygen Demand of 3 mg/1 or less of the water ensures reasonable freedom from oxygen demanding pollutants and prevent production of obnoxious gases. |
Apart from the CPCB guidelines, the EU directive 2006/7/EC Annex-I, categorizes bathing water quality from different sources as follows:
For Inland Waters
| Parameter | Excellent quality | Good quality | Sufficient | Reference methods of analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intestinal enterococci (cfu/100 ml) | 200 | 400 | 330 | ISO 7899-1 or ISO 7899-2 |
| Escherichia coli (cfu/100 ml) | 500 | 1000 | 900 | ISO 9308-3 or ISO 9308-1 |
For coastal waters and transitional waters
| Parameter | Excellent quality | Good quality | Sufficient | Reference methods of analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intestinal enterococci (cfu/100 ml) | 100 | 200 | 185 | ISO 7899-1 or ISO 7899-2 |
| Escherichia coli (cfu/100 ml) | 250 | 500 | 500 | ISO 9308-3 or ISO 9308-1 |
CLL provides expert services in river monitoring surveys with GPS based sampling and on-site / mobile laboratory based testing to give rapid results to the water management agencies in a timely and efficient manner.
Our team takes up large scale survey, sampling, monitoring and testing studies and provides this data to regulatory agencies and public waterworks departments; this data drives policies and action-plans based on scientific evidence.
CLL’s Water Related services:
- Water Borne Diseases & their testing
- Drinking Water Testing Services
- Wastewater Treatment & Monitoring
- Water for Bathing purpose
- Outfall water testing
- River water surveys
- Recreational Water Testing
- Agricultural Use Water
- Water for Construction purpose
- Water for Food processing industries
- Water for Pharmaceutical Industry
- Water for Hemodialysis
- Water for Injection
- Water for fisheries