Ensuring biological safety of drinking water at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India

Abstract

Potability of drinking water from various sources at the campus of International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh, India had been assessed for 17 years (1994 to 2010). All four sources of drinking water at ICRISAT, including Manjeera water (Municipal corporation supplied drinking water), borewell 1, borewell 2 and ICRISAT water (mixture of both Manjeera as well as borewells after treatment), were tested for their potability once in two months by most probable number (MPN) method. The results indicated that water from borewells were not safe to drink without treatment as Escherichia coli was found in 10 and 12 years out of 17 tested years for bore wells 1 and 2, respectively. Manjeera water samples were also found unsafe in two out of the 17 years, whereas ICRISAT water was found safe to drink throughout the study period. This study indicated that even deep borewells (of about 135 ft) can get contaminated, and its water is not safe to drink without treatment, and an additional treatment of municipal water supply is required in order to have safe drinking water.

Keywords: Potability, drinking water, Escherichia coli, borewell water, municipal water