WATER QUALITY IN URBAN SLUMS – A STUDY IN DELHI, INDIA

(Findings of a study done by FORCE as a part of WaterAid India

supported Swatchch Dilli Swasth Dilli project)

THE NORMS

Bureau of Indian Standards Norms:

• pH- 6.5-8.5 TDS- 500 ppm

• Fluoride- 1-1.5 mg/l E-Coli - No sample should contain E. coli

THE STUDY AREA

20 slums spread over two municipal wards in Delhi – Ward 100 and Ward 144. Ward 100 is in

West Delhi and Ward 144 in South West Delhi. The 20 slums are ‘unauthorised’ i.e they are

Squatter colonies not recognized as legal by the government.

KEY FINDINGS

• Out of 20, 8 (40%) were totally dependent on tube wells and 45% were highly

dependent on tubewells. Only 3 (15%) got adequate (upto 300 l / family) water

from supply lines (legal / illegal)

• No slum gets Delhi Jal Board (DJB) bills – which mean connections are illegal. DJB

itself has laid pipelines for public stand posts in 4 areas – the rest are all thefts from

supply system

• Pathogens – E-Coli – were present in atleast 1 or more sample in 18 slums !

• Out of 19 supply & tanker samples, e-coli in 6 – approx 30% (surprisingly less

considering the contamination levels in surrounding areas)

• In slums with open defecation or with a

nullah (large open drain) nearby – E-coli

was found in 70% borewell samples.

Interestingly, many of the samples in these

areas which were clear were those in/ near

religious places

• In slums with nullahs, 100% E-coli in

borewell samples.

• In all slums, atleast one or more borewell

sample had TDS above 500. This is bad

because all slums are dependent on tubewells

– infact for most, this is the only source of

water.

• Out of the total borewell samples (42), TDS was higher than 500 for 31 (72%).

TDS Goes upto max of 1670.

• Out of the total samples taken 54% samples were found to be contaminated with E-

Coli.

• TDS was within limit for all samples of DJB supply

• Fluoride only in one handpump sample. At lower doses, fluoride can cause an increase

in bone density and fragility.

• pH levels high in 5 samples in South West - means alkaline water – scaling in

plumbing, bitterness etc

• TDS Out of the total no of samples taken i.e. 63, 31 (49.20%) samples were above the

permissible limit. The maximum TDS is was 1670 ppm and the lowest was 107 ppm.

WARD WISE INFORMATION

Ward 144

• TDS

54.28% samples were found to be

above the permissible limits

The maximum level of the TDS goes

up to 1330 ppm in shanker camp area

• Fluoride

77.14% samples were below the

prescribed limit. However, 8 samples

were on the borderline i.e. between 1 and 1.5. This is worrying because it indicates that

this belt may be contiguous with the Western India belt with high fluoride levels.

• Bacteria/pathogen

65.7% of the samples were found contaminated with the presence of pathogen/bacteria.

Ward 100

• TDS

39 % samples were above the permissible limit, with the maximum TDS upto 1670 ppm.

The balance samples’ TDS is within the permissible range.

• Fluoride

100% of the samples were below the prescribed range.

• Bacteria/pathogen

43.47% of the samples were found to be contaminated with some pathogen/bacteria.

One can see the difference in the results of two wards very easily. Ward 144

has a much worse water quality problem. The reason behind this is that the

source of water in the ward 144 is primarily from bore wells or from hand

pumps, only 2 sites have government supply.

On the other hand in ward 100 the majority of the water supply is done by the

govt, either by pipelines or by bore wells.

Water Source Type Nos. in Ward 144 Nos. in Ward 100

Borewell 29 9

Handpump 3 2

Government Water 0 14

Supply

Water Tanker 3 0

CONCLUSIONS

1) Contamination is not limited to the Yamuna River – groundwater is contaminated too

(72% of samples taken)

2) Government is largely to blame – toilets that open into nullahs directly, overflowing

septic tanks, leach pits / waste water soak pits , no provisions for toilets for people, no

lifting of municpal waste, no option given of sewer connectivity – all these are issues

that can only be handled by the government

3) Nullahs must be cleaned – and connectivity to sewer lines provided to all settlements

along it – otherwise yamuna can never get cleaned

4) The Yamuna has no fresh water flow in it after Tajewala. Currently, our only hope lies

in making sure that only treated waste water enters the Yamuna.

5) The focus on Yamuna is misplaced – it should be on rectifying the quality of flow from

nullahs into it and removing municpal waste from settlements.

6) There should be no e-coli at all in groundwater – its presence is totally because of poor

municipal provisions in Delhi

7) People need water – so they take water illegally if they are not provided legally. This is

the root cause of wastages, distribution losses and contamination

8) Policy shift is needed – to accepting Water as a Right. Government should supply

water to all – however, it may explore ‘community managed distribution systems’

where the community is given bulk supply and then handles internal distribution itself.

WATER TESTING RESULT INFERENCES

Only 27% of Delhi is authorized – so when planning is done for water, it is done for these planned

areas.

All unauthorized areas also have water, but it is ‘taken’ – very little of it is given as a planned

support activity by the government. Especially in case of the urban poor – they are left to fend for

themselves or to live on the political patronage of leaders who get tubewells / handpumps made

for them from their discretionary funds. This grant of tubewells, is infact, is a major vote grabber

for them during election time. DJB helps – by turning a blind eye – atleast it keeps them off the

streets demanding regular water supply!

These plagiarized tappings into supply lines or ‘ownerless’ tube wells are completely norm-less.

No quality checks are done, no preventive measures taken. No attempt is made to also prevent

the concentration of power in the hands of the local leader – who by force takes over these

tubewells and distributes water to the others. This makes him all powerful and he actively resists

any move to institutionalize the system. Also, quality is hugely suspect – many slums have

rampant open defecation and/or are located next to nullahs. The borewell water there is

contaminated – yet they drink it because it is their only source. Even the illegal tapping into

supply lines poses problems – it not only exposes the water they get to contaminants but also

makes the entire distribution system vulnerable to contamination.

Interestingly, DJB’s claims of its water being E-

Coli free when released into the distribution

system, seems to be validated somewhat by

this study. Even in very dirty areas, when the

water supply line has been tapped properly

(with proper sealing) or where there are little or

no tappings before it, the water tested E-Coli

negative.

As Delhi Jal Board gets into a regulatory mode –

with increased outsourcing and focus on

efficiency – it is important to make sure that

these unseen millions are ‘planned for’. Access

to safe water is a right – which cannot be

subverted because of the legality of the tenement in which one is living.

There is anger brewing in the poor – their water access is getting squeezed as borewells

increasingly dry up and supply lines get diverted. They are increasingly aware of quality problems

in water and the the fact that the government has left them to arrange for themselves, is

increasingly being resented.

Also, for those who worry about the contamination in the Yamuna, the results are a reality check

– the nullahs and their untreated sewage is not just contaminating the river but worse,

contaminating groundwater which cannot be cleaned up – ever. There are 22 of these nullahs

crisscrossing the city – a fan of contamination creeping in from everywhere. Putting the blame

merely on the poor is meaningless – why do we not have enough STPs?

Delhi needs to stop thinking only about getting other states to make dams for it. The focus must

shift to an introspection about how well it is handling the resources it already has. Planning has

to become realistic – based on unauthorised and planned city dwellers.