1,800 villages in Karnataka consume contaminated water

Nearly 1,800 villages in Karnataka continue to consume nitrate-contaminated water, while over 1,300 villages have received drinking water contaminated with fluoride and high total hardness over the past four years.

Districts such as Chitradurga, Koppal, Mandya, Vijayapura, Tumakuru, Raichur and Chikkaballapur regularly report contamination from nitrates, fluoride, total hardness, total alkalinity and other chemicals. Meanwhile, Ballari, Kalaburagi, Raichur and Chikkamagaluru frequently report bacterial contamination in drinking water sources.

Experts say irregular testing of water samples in rural areas has resulted in a lack of reliable data to address the issue. Officials attribute this to a shortage of staff in the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department and the Health Department, which limits their ability to collect samples from all potable water sources. The state has also not formulated a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for regular water quality monitoring.

RDPR officials claim that water testing has improved over the past three years. However, data uploaded on the Jal Jeevan Mission portal shows that the state has not reported any cases of arsenic contamination in this period. Experts and scientists, however, say villages in Raichur, Tumakuru, Kolar and Gadag have drinking water sources contaminated with arsenic.

“Iron, chloride and residual chlorine are other contaminants that are not being properly recorded in the state’s monitoring system,” said a KSPCB officer.

According to a written reply by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to MP G Kumar Naik, nearly 10 per cent of water samples tested in laboratories in 2023-24 were found to be chemically or bacteriologically contaminated. In 2023-24, the state tested 2.51 lakh samples for chemical parameters and 46,309 samples for bacteriological parameters. In 2024-25, 2.72 lakh samples were tested for chemical contamination and 1.18 lakh samples for bacteriological contamination. Data shows that 6 per cent of samples were chemically contaminated and 3 per cent bacteriologically contaminated beyond permissible limits. Till February 2026, Karnataka tested 1.96 lakh samples for chemical parameters, of which 5.5 per cent showed contamination, and 50,134 samples for bacteriological parameters, with 4.1 per cent testing positive for contamination.

A senior Health Department official told DH that the Department of Health and Family Welfare tests drinking water sources for potability only during outbreak situations.

The official added that the absence of a comprehensive mapping of drinking water sources makes it nearly impossible to test all borewells, wells, lakes, tanks and other sources.

Hari Prasad, Senior Research Associate at WELL Labs, said that a few decades ago groundwater was considered safer than surface water. “However, today many borewells have become sources of contamination as drilling goes deeper, where the concentration of radioactive materials, heavy metals and other chemicals is higher,” he said.

He also noted that many lakes in Karnataka have lost their role as primary drinking water sources due to encroachment and pollution. “Lakes are now largely treated as spaces for floodwater storage, groundwater recharge and recreation. If urgent action is not taken, both surface and groundwater could become unsafe for drinking,” he warned.

RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge said the state has increased water quality testing across Karnataka. “We have been testing water samples before and after monsoon. In many cases even during the summer, we are collecting water samples to rule-out any outbreak of diseases.”

“The data shows a declining trend in the proportion of contaminated samples, indicating strengthened monitoring, increased testing coverage and effective remedial measures. All non-compliant sources were immediately re-tested, and alternative safe drinking water arrangements were provided wherever required,” he said.