How to Find Govt Approved Water Testing Lab Near Me
In this post, you’ll find out how you can easily find a Government-approved drinking water testing lab near your home.
What is the Need for Testing Drinking Water?
As of 20th May 2024, the total number of water samples tested by the Govt. approved water testing labs (in 2024-25), was 5,87,569. (Source: JJM-WQMIS)
Out of these total samples, 18,615 samples were found contaminated.
This means around 3.16% of all water samples tested in India are unfit for human consumption.
The situation is very alarming in some states like West Bengal and Kerala.
In West Bengal, out of the 32,159 drinking water samples that were tested, 5,054 samples were found contaminated. That’s a shocking 15.71% of contamination. 1 out of every 6 drinking water samples were found contaminated in West Bengal.
States with the Highest Number of Water Contamination Cases – West Bengal and Kerala
This is beyond your wildest imagination.
Kerala is not too far behind, out of the 44,749 drinking water samples tested, 6,376 samples were found contaminated. That’s a shocking 14.24% of contamination.
On the other hand, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Puducherry, and Punjab did not report a single sample that was found contaminated.
Bigger states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and Punjab not reporting a single contaminated sample is difficult to believe.
When to Test the Water Samples?
The short and simple answer is ‘get your drinking water tested if its appearance, smell, or taste is not normal.’
You must also get your drinking water tested in a laboratory if your area has a known history of water contamination or waterborne diseases.
Almost all municipal corporations periodically test the drinking water they supply. But, old, rusted, and damaged water supply lines lead to contamination as water flows from the source to your home.
If the water source is groundwater, river, or well then you must get your drinking water tested.
Drinking Water Quality Standards
The water you drink or use for cooking should be clean and safe.
But how do you know if your drinking water is safe?
This is where the water quality guidelines/specifications come into the picture.
Most countries have their standards for water quality.
The Bureau of India Standards (BIS) is the organization that sets and publishes the drinking water quality standards in India. BIS first published India’s water quality guidelines ‘Drinking Water Specifications’ in 2012.
All drinking water shall comply with the specifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards (IS 10500: 2012).
In these water quality specifications, there are two limits for every water contaminant: Acceptable limits and permissible limits.
The values in acceptable limits refer to the desirable contamination limits of any particular contaminant.
While the values prescribed in permissible limits mean such water should only be consumed if there is no alternate source.
If any value exceeds the permissible limit, the water is unsafe for drinking.
All water-supplying agencies like Municipal Corporations test drinking water as per these water quality standards.
But if you depend on groundwater and tankers, get the water tested yourself.
You may want to learn more about drinking water quality standards in India.
Health Impacts of Drinking Contaminated Water
Drinking contaminated water can have mild to severe health effects.
The severity of the health impact depends on the type of contaminant and duration of exposure.
While some contaminants have reasonably mild to moderate effects like constipation, others may cause life-threatening diseases like cancer, damage your vital organs, or affect your nervous system.
The figure shows some common water contaminants and their impact on your health.
How to Find a Government Water Testing Lab Near Your Home?
Time needed: 5 minutes
Apart from Government drinking water testing labs, most big cities have private water testing labs as well.
But, most of the private water testing labs we came across, are mostly focused on industrial users.
Some small private labs offer drinking water testing for residential users but we are not sure how reliable their testing is.
In this post, we’ll cover ways of finding Government drinking water testing laboratories in your city.
So, without wasting any more time.
Let’s get on the business.
As per the Jal Jeevan Mission’s Water Quality Management Information System, there are 2,127 Govt. approved water testing labs in India (as of 20th May. 2024).
States with the maximum number of water contamination cases have more labs as compared to states with fewer cases.
West Bengal, has the highest number of water testing laboratories. As we have seen earlier, West Bengal has the highest water contamination cases.
When it comes to Govt. departments most people start worrying.
Worry not.
Today we’ll tell you an easy way to find a Govt. water testing lab near your home in just a minute.
And the best part is, all the information is available online.
Follow the below-given steps to find a Govt. Authorized drinking water testing lab right now.
- Open the Website
Open any web browser and go to the official website of Jal Jeevan Mission – Water Quality Management Information System https://ejalshakti.gov.in/WQMIS/Main/Index
- Locate Labs Near You
Click on the link ‘Locate labs near you’ in the top navigation.
- Select Your State & District
Please select your state and district from the dropdowns and click on the Search button.
- View Details of the Labs Near You
Details of all the labs in your selected state & district will be shown in the table. The table shows the name, type (Govt/Private), and complete address of the lab.
Wrapping Up
Wasn’t this much easier than what you initially thought?
All credit must go to the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Ministry of Jalshakti.
Jal Jeevan Mission is one of the most successful programs run by the Govt. of India. It has fulfilled the dream of millions of Indians of having a tap water connection at their homes.
Not only this, but the focus on maintaining the water quality is also commendable.
In this post, you’ve learned to find the nearest Government water analysis lab.
In the next post, we’ll show you the exact process you need to follow to get your drinking water sample tested in a Govt. lab.
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The Neer website link is no longer operational as of May 2024.
I found the lab list in the Jal Jeevan site at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/WQMIS/Main/location_lab
Thank you for your feedback. We have updated the post with the appropriate link.
I want to test my drinking water quality
First of all thanks for the valuable information.
Sir/madam, Now a days water purifier servicing/maintenance/repair costs have become a visit affair. Even replacement of various filters used for water purifier is also very high. Can you suggest any better options/solution for this problem
The maintenance cost actually depends on the type of purifier you are using. UV and gravity-based purifiers have very low maintenance costs. RO purifiers, on the other hand, have relatively high maintenance costs.