Indian Standards pertaining to drinking water

Indian Standards pertaining to drinking water

Part of: GS-Prelims and GS-II: Government schemes and policies

Context: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has made two Indian Standards pertaining to drinking water, namely, 

• IS 10500:2012 on Drinking Water – Specification and 
• IS 17482:2020 on Drinking Water Supply Management System – Requirements for Piped Drinking Water Supply.

BIS quality standards are not mandatory for civic agencies engaged in supplying drinking water to houses across the country.

Note: 

• Water Supply is a State subject and it is the responsibility of the State Government/Urban Local Bodies to plan, design, execute, operate and maintain the water supply systems.
• Since August 2019, the Government of India in partnership with States is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) – Har Ghar Jal to make provision of potable tap water supply in adequate quantity, of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household by 2024. 
• Under Jal Jeevan Mission, as per existing guideline, IS 10500:2012 is to be adopted for ensuring safe drinking water supply and States/ UTs have been advised to carry out testing of drinking water sources once in a year for chemical and physical parameters and twice in a year for bacteriological parameters.

News Source: PIB