SAFE DRINKING WATER FOR ALL

SAFE DRINKING WATER FOR ALL

     

Over the years, technologies developed n several CSIR laboratories have enabled provision of safe drinking water to the remotest areas throughout the country.

W

HEN drinking water, the elixir of life, comes polluted quality of life can never be ensured. And when an organization steps in to clean-up and purity highly polluted water to make it fit for drinking, there can be no greater service to the citizens of the country than this. The laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have been rendering this service for many years past, especially for areas that cannot afford expensive, high-end water filters.

            In many villages of West Bengal, drinking water laced with arsenic (150 times above WHO recommended levels) and high iron content had made life miserable and disease-prone for the inhabitants. The CSIR- Central Glass and Ceramics Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI), Kolkata, stepped in with its ceramic membrane technology delivering to the afflicted areas drinking water with arsenic and iron below detectable limits. Very soon the technology found its way to Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

            When fluorosis struck the Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, the CSIR- Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad, developed and installed reverse osmosis based defluoridation plants in villages, schools and hamlets. The technique provided drinking water that was better than mineral water, free from bacterial and fluoride content and cheaper too.

            Over the years, technologies developed in several other CSIR-CSMCRI (Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute), Bhavnagar has developed and installed reverse osmosis and arsenic and fluoride removal units. Its membrane separation processes such as Electrodialysis technology, Electrodialysis – Reverse Osmosis (ED-RO), Reverse Osmosis (RO), Nanofiltration (NF) and Ultra filtration (UF) have emerged as effective solutions to produce safe drinking water.

            TERAFIL developed by the CSIR-IMMT (Institute of Mineral and Materials Technology), Bhubaneswar is a low cost burnt red clay porous candle, used for filtration and treatment of turbid raw water into clean drinking water in domestic/ community applications. Suspended particles, sediment, iron, many heavy metals, micro-organisms, color and bad odour are separated from raw water effectively during filtration, without clogging the core of the TERAFIL. The postable filters also come handy during disasters such as floods when safe drinking water is scarce.

            Excess fluoride n drinking water can lead to dental, skeletal and non-skeletal flourosis. The Solar Energy Based Electrolytic by CSIR-NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Institute). Nagpur removes fluoride from water. The institute has also developed many instant water filters suitable for flood areas and also hand pump attachable iron removal plants.

            The CSIR-IICT (Indian Institute of Chemical Technology), Hyderabad has come up with several cost effective, compact plants for treatment of potable water, including Defluoridation technology for Groundwater, Highly compact Nanofiltraion pilot Plat for surface water purification, and Hand operated Submerged Ultrafiltration system  for Treatment of Surface  and Flood  water.

            Among the existing water purification technologies, UV disinfection is considered the most efficient. The sterilization effects of UV lamps are well-known. However, existing UV lamps use environmentally hazardous mercury for water disinfection at domestic and industrial levels. There are many problems associated with including sleeve breakage, filament failure, etc. Hence, CSIR-CEERI (Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute), Pilani has developed a mercury-free plasma UV lamp with a new structural design that is capable of producing the desired UV wavelengths for the deactivation of microbes most efficiently without the use of mercury.

            ‘O’ NEER is yet another efficient and affordable technique developed by the CSIR-IITR (Indian Institute of Toxicology Research), Lucknow. It is a solar-operated water purifier that eliminates the need of changing filters.

            CSIR-NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute), Hyderabad has made efforts to enhance natural water systems for safe and sustainable water supply in India. It has implemented rain water harvesting and artificial recharge technology in desert areas apart from harnessing surplus –storm runoff drinking water.