Last year, a water testing facility was set up at a Government school in Kattakada in the capital, as part of the award-winning ‘Jalasamrudhi’ project for water conservation in the constituency, to test the bacteria and mineral content in the wells in the region.
It received some enthusiastic response from the students, who brought in well water from their homes for testing.
Till very recently, there has been a shortage of water testing facilities, with only one or two labs in every district available for the purpose. Many, especially from the rural areas, thus did not have easy access to these. To address this, the Haritha Keralam Mission decided to set up testing facilities in every panchayat in the State. Along with the Local Self Government department (LSGD), the Education Department also joined hands in this project, as these water testing labs were to be set up in higher secondary schools, attached to their existing chemistry labs. Kattakada became the pilot for the project.
The funds for setting up the labs, each of which costs ₹1 lakh, comes from the MLA’s local area development funds. As of now, 49 MLAs have set aside funds for the purpose. In addition, funds from local bodies are also being used. A total of 1,034 such labs are now being planned across the State, out of which 17 have already been completed and administrative sanction has been accorded to 480.
“The response has been great. In a school in Kannur, there were as many as 28 water samples from wells brought in on a single day. The science teachers in each school are leading the training programme for students. Video tutorials have also been prepared. It is a great practical experience for the students too,” said an official of the Haritha Keralam Mission.
Eight parameters are mainly being tested—colour, smell, pH value, acid content, dissolved solid substances, nitrate percentage, ammonium percentage and presence of Coliform bacteria. A manual is being prepared with tips for the public on how to improve the water quality. Samples which require more detailed examination will be referred to the district or State-level laboratories.
A software has also been developed with the support of the Indian Institute Of Information Technology and Management to tabulate and analyse all the testing results. The database will be accessible to the local bodies and health workers, to identify and take corrective measures in areas facing issues of water quality.
