Jal Shakti Ministry to install system to monitor tap water supply

The Ministry of Jal Shakti is working on installing a sensor-based system in 100 villages to monitor the tap water supply and understand patterns of water consumption in rural households.

As per the proposal, the IoT (internet of things) based sensors and flow meters will be installed on overhead water tanks. The ministry has already installed such a system in 11 locations on a trial basis. The same will be deployed in 100 villages of nine states: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Manipur, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Ladakh on a pilot basis, said an official in the ministry.

The systems aim at not only monitoring the supply but also understanding water consumption patterns and subsequently determining the price of water supplied to the individual household, said the official.

Since the Centre is keen on capturing proper data to supply water at an affordable cost, the IoT based system will help both the Centre and the states to decide on pricing mechanisms of water supplied to individual households. The data will help to determine the consumption patterns in rural areas, said an official.

The ministry is also asking the states to complete the installation of community water purification plants in areas with high fluoride and arsenic contamination of water by December 2021.

To empower the local community on water quality surveillance, the states have been told to identity and train five women in each village to test water quality and upload online. The test will be done in a simple kit supplied to gram panchayats.

The number of water-borne diseases can be prevented with regular water quality testing and timely remedial actions. All drinking water sources are to be tested once a year for chemical contamination and twice a year for bacteriological parameters (pre and post-monsoon), the ministry said in its advisory to states.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government launched Jal Jeevan Mission on August 15, 2019, to supply potable tap water connections to each household by 2024.

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