National Water Quality Monitoring Programme

WATER QUALITY STANDARDS

The basic purpose of making guidelines or standards is to provide safe drinking water to all the citizens. The World Health Organization (WHO) has provided guidelines for drinking water, which are advisory in nature, and are based on scientific research and epidemiological findings. The values of various water quality parameters recommended by WHO are the general guidelines. That is why, different countries have established their own water quality standards to meet their national priorities taking in to account their economic, technical, social, cultural, and political requirements. The PCRWR and Pakistan Standard Institution (PSI) have already drafted drinking water quality standards; however, the enforcement of these standards is still pending. This matter needs to be addressed on top priority basis. The WHO guidelines and standards proposed by national agencies like PCRWR, Pakistan Standard Institution (PSI), International Bottled Water Association (IBWA), Food Development Authority (FDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other countries are given.

WHO Guidelines
A. Bacteriological Qualities

Source/Organisms
a. All water intended for drinking (E. Coli or thermo tolerant Coliform bacteria) b. Treated water entering the distribution system (E. Coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria) c.Treated water in the distribution system (E. Coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria)

Guideline Value
Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample

Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample In the case of large supplies, where sufficient samples are examined, must not be present in 95% of samples taken throughout any 12-month period.

B. Chemicals of Health Significance Inorganic Antimony Arsenic Barium Boron mg/l 0.005 0.010 0.700 0.300 Inorganic Copper Cyanide Fluoride Lead mg/l 2.000 0.070 1.500 0.010 Inorganic Molybdenum Nickel Nitrate(NO3) Nitrite(NO2) Selenium mg/l 0.070 0.020 50.00 03.00 0.010

Cadmium Chromium C. Other Parameters Inorganic Colour Taste, Odour. Turbidity Toluene Xylenes Ethyl-benzene

0.003 0.050

Manganese Mercury Inorganic 1,2 dichlorobenzene 1,4dichlorobenzene Dichlorobenzene Synthetic detergents Aluminum

0.500 0.001 mg/l 1-10 0.3-30 Hydrogen sulfide 5-50 Iron Manganese 0.2 Sodium 1.5 250 Sulfate 250 1000 TDS 1 3 Zinc 0.3 0.1 200 Inorganic Hardness,pH, DO mg/l 0.05

mg/l 15 TCU 5 NTU 24-170 201800 2.4-200

Styrene 4-2600 Monochlorobenzene 10-120 Chloride Copper D. Disinfectants and Disinfectant by-Products Chlorine chlorophenol 2,4-dichlorophenol 600-1000 0.3-40 Ammonia

2,4,6-trichlorophenol 2-chlorophenol

2-300 0.1-10

Standards Drafted by PCRWR

A. Bacteriological Standards (Urban and Rural water supplies)

Categories A. Piped Water Supplies A-1 Treated water entering the distribution system Faecal Coliform Coliform organisms

Standards

0/100 ml 0/100 ml

A-2 Un-treated water entering the distribution system Faecal Coliform Coliform organisms Coliform organisms 0/100 ml 0/100 ml 3/100 ml

A-3 Water in the distribution system Faecal Coliform Coliform organisms 0/100 ml 0/100 ml 3/100 ml

Coliform organisms B. Un-piped Water Supplies Faecal Coliform Coliform Organisms

0/100 ml 10/100 ml

B. Standards for Inorganic Health Related Constituents Constituent Fluoride Unit mg/l HDL* 1.000 Toxic Effects Dental fluorosis in children, excessive concentrative may cause crippling skeletal fluorosis. 45.000 45.000 Infantile methaemoglobinaemia. 0.050 0.050 Children particularly susceptible to effects of lead on central nervous system 0.001 0.001 Neurological effects
**

MPL** 1.500

Nitrate (NO3) Lead Mercury

*

mg/l mg/l mg/l

Highest Desirable Level.

Maximum Permissible Level.

C. Other Parameters Constituent Turbidity Colour Taste & Odour TDS Iron Manganese Magnesium Copper Zinc Sulfate Chloride pH Hardness Phenolic substances
*

Unit NTU PCU mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/1 mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l

HDL* 2.5

MPL** 5

5 15 Unobjectionable 500 1500 0.1 0.05 30 0.05 5 200 200 7.08.5 200 0.001 1.0 0.5 150 1.5 15.0 400 600 6.5-9.2 500 0.002

Undesirable Effects Un-aesthetic, decrease in efficiency of disinfections Un-aesthetic Taste & Odour Fault or salty taste, corrosion or instruction Taste, discoloration Taste, discoloration Stomach disturbances Taste, corrosion of pipes and utensils taste Taste Corrosion, Laxative effect Taste, Corrosion Taste, Corrosion Corrosion or scale formation Taste
**

Highest Desirable Level.

Maximum Permissible Level.

Pakistan Standard Institution

Drinking Water Quality Standards A. Physical Requirements

S. # 1. 2. 3. 4.

Characteristics Turbidity Colour Taste & Odour pH

Unit NTU TCU -

MAC* MAC** 5 25 5 50 Unobjectionable 7.0-8.5 6.5- 9.2

B. Chemical Requirements

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Total Dissolved Solids Chloride (Cl) Sulfate (SO4) Nitrate (NO3) Total Hardness (CaCO3) Nitrite (NO2) Total Ammonia

mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l

1000 200 200 20 Nil 0.1

1500 600 400 45 500 Nil 0.5

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Hydrogen Sulfide Fluoride (F) Iron (Fe) Zinc (Zn) Manganese (Mn) Copper (Cu) Calcium (Ca) Magnesium (Mg) Phenolic Substances Alkyl Benzyl Sulfates Carbon Chloroform Extract Arsenic (As) Cadmium (Cd) Chromium (Cr) Cyanide (Cn) Lead (Pb) Selenium (Se) Radionaclider

mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l Uo/l

Undetectable odour 1.5 0.3 1.0 5.0 15.0 0.1 0.5 1.0 1.5 75 200 50 150 0.001 0.002 0.5 1.0 0.2 0.5 0.05 0.01 0.05 0.20 0.05 0.20 1000 -

C. Limits of Toxic Substances

D. Biological Requirements (Chemical Indicators of Pollution)

1. 2. 3. 4.

Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) Ammonia (NH3) Grease

mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l

10 6 0.5 1

E. Limits for Bacteriological Contaminants

Acceptable bacterial standards for potable water supplies: i) Standard plate count (SPC) / mls No more than 100 ii) iii) Presumptive test for Coliform Most probable number (MPN) Negative < 101 subject to the frequency of opportunity for water analysis.

* Maximum Acceptable Concentration.

** Maximum Allowable Concentration.

International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Standards

A. Chemical Quality Characteristics Arsenic (As) Barium (Ba) Cadmium (Cd) Chromium (Cr) Chloride (Cl) Copper (Cu) Cyanide (Cn) Fluoride (F) Iron (Fe) Lead (Pb) Manganese (Mn)
Total Plate Count/ml Coliform (MPN/100 ml)

Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l

Standard 0.05 1 0.005 0.05 250 1 0.1 4 0.3 0.005 0.05

Characteristics Mercury (Hg) Nitrate (NO3) Nitrite (NO2) Selenium (Se) Silver (Ag) Sulfate (SO4) Phenolic PCB TDS Zinc (Zn) Escherichia coli Salmonella

Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l -

Standard 0.001 10 1 0.01 0.025 250 0.001 0.0005 500 5 -

B. Microbiological Quality
CFU/ml MPN/100 ml <200 <2,20 MPN/100 ml CFU/100ml

Food Development Authority (FDA) Water Standards

Characteristics Arsenic (As) Barium (Ba) Cadmium (Cd) Chromium (Cr) Chloride (Cl) Copper (Cu) Iron (Fe) Lead (Pb) Manganese (Mn) Mercury (Hg) Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l Standard 0.05 1 0.01 0.05 250 1 0.3 0.05 0.05 0.002 Characteristics Nitrate (NO3) Selenium (Se) Silver (Ag) Sulfate (SO4) Phenolic Ra 226 activity (pCi/l) Total Beta activity (pCi/l) TDS Zinc (Zn) Coliform (MPN/100 ml) Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l Standard 10 0.01 0.05 250 0.001 5 8 500 5 <2,20

National Environmental Industrial Effluents)

Sr.# 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

Quality

Standards

by

EPA

(Liquid

Parameter Temperature pH Value (acidicity/basicity) 5-day Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) at 200C Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) Total Suspended Solids Total Dissolved Solids Grease and Oil Phenolic Compounds (as phenol) Chloride (as Cl) Fluoride (as F) Cyanide (as Cn) An-ionic detergents (as MBAS) 3 Sulfate (SO4) Sulfide (S) Ammonia (NH3) Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides Cadmium Chromium (trivalent and hexavalent) Copper Lead Mercury Selenium Nickel Silver Total Toxic Metals Zinc Arsenic Barium Iron Manganese Boron Chlorine

Standards 40 C 6-10 pH 80 mg/l 150 mg/l 150 mg/l 3500 mg/l 10 mg/l 0.1 mg/l 1000 mg/l 20 mg/l 2 mg/l 20 mg/l 600 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 40 mg/l 6.15 mg/l 0.1 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 0.5 mg/l 0.01 mg/l 0.5 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 2.0 mg/l 5.0 mg/l 1.0 mg/l 1.5 mg/l 2.0 mg/l 1.5 mg/l 6.0 mg/l 1.0 mg/l

Indian Water Quality Standards A. Physical and Chemical Standards Sr. #. Characteristics (mg/l) Turbidity (NTU) Colour (TCU) Taste & Odour pH TDS Hardness Chloride Sulfate Phenolic Compounds Anionic Detergents Arsenic Cadmium AcceptMarginal Sr. #. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 23 24 25 26 Characteristics (mg/l) Fluoride Nitrate (N) Acceptable 1.0 45 75 30 0.1 0.05 0.05 5.0 0.1 0.01 0.001 0.2 Marginal 1.5 45 200 150 1.0 0.5 1.5 15 0.1 0.001 0.2 3

1
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 17 18 19 20

Able 2.5 10 5 25 Unobjectionable 7-8.5 500 200 200 200 0.001 0.2 0.05 0.01 6.5-9.2 1500 600 1000 400 0.002 1.0 0.05 0.01

Calcium
Magnesium Iron Manganese Copper Zinc Lead Selenium Mercury Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (g/l) Gross Alpha Activity

21 22

Chromium Cyanide

0.05 0.05

0.05 0.05

27 28

3 (pCi/l)

30 -

Gross Beta Activity pico curie/l

30 (pCi/l)

The figures indicated under the column Acceptable are the limits up to which the water is generally acceptable to the consumers. Figures in excess of those mentioned under acceptable render water not acceptable, but still may be tolerated in absence of alternative and better source but up to the limits indicated under column Marginal above which the supply will have to be rejected.
B. Bacteriological Standards

i)

Water entering the distribution system coliform count in any sample of 100 ml should be zero. ii) Water in the distribution system shall satisfy all the three criteria indicated below: E.Coli count in 100 ml of any sample should be zero; Coliform organisms no more than 10 per 100 ml shall be present in any sample; and Coliform organisms should not be detectable in 100 ml of any two consecutive samples or more than 50% of the samples collected for the year. iii) Individual or small community supplies.
E.Coli count should be zero in any sample of 100 ml and coliform organisms should not be more than 3 per 100 ml.

C. Virological Aspects
i) A Level

of 0.5 mg/l of free chlorine residual for one hour is sufficient to inactivate virus, even in water that was originally polluted. This free chlorine residual is to be insisted in all disinfected supplies in areas suspected of endemicity of infectious hepatitis to take care of the safety of the supply from virus point of view, which incidentally takes care of the safety from the bacteriological point of view as well. For other areas 0.2 mg/l of free chlorine residual for half an hour should be insisted. The water quality standards developed and enforced by various countries are given in the tables from 3.8 to 3.10. 3.8 Water Quality Standards of Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Brunei.
Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l pCi/l pCi/l mg/l mg/l Indonesia Singapore Malaysia Thailand Philippines Brunei 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 <0.003 1 1 <0.02 0.03 30 0.2 0.1 0.01 0.01 0.005 0.01 <0.002 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 <0.01 250 0.05 250 1 1 0.5 0.1 1 <0.01 0.01 1 0.05 0.01 2 0.01 1 2 2 0.09 170 100 1 0.3 0.1 0.05 1 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 <0.01 0.05 2 2 0.002 0.1 0.01 0.001 1 0.001 0.001 <0.005 ND ND ND 45 45 4 45 <0.01 ND 0.005 0.005 0.01 1 0.003 3 5 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.05 ND ND 2 ND 0.05 0.05 200 250 ND ND 0.001 0.001 30 1 500 500 5 5 5 -

A. Chemical Quality
S. # Substances 1 Arsenic (As) 2 Barium (Ba) 3 Borate (BO3) 4 Cadmium (Cd) 5 Chromium (Cr) 6 Chloride (Cl) 7 Chlorine (Cl2) 8 Copper (Cu) 9 COD 10 Cyanide (CN) 11 Fluoride (F) 12 Hardness (CaCO3) 13 Iodine (I) 14 Iron (Fe) 15 Lead (Pb) 16 Manganese (Mn) 17 Mercury (Hg) 18 Mineral Oil 19 Nitrate (NO3) 20 Nitrite (NO2) 21 Organic Matter 22 Selenium (Se) 23 Silver (Ag) 24 Surfactant 25 Sulfide (S) 26 Sulphate (SO4) 27 Phenolic 28 Ra 226 activity 29 Total Beta activity 30 TDS 31 Zinc (Zn)

B. Microbiological Quality
1 2 3 4 Total Plate Count/ml Coliform (MPN/100 ml) Escherichia coli Salmonella/100 ml Staphylococcus CFU/ml Max 1x10 Max.1x10 MPN/100ml <2.20 0/250 ml Max.10 <2,20 MPN/100ml 0 0 0 Negative CFU/100ml 0 CFU/250ml CFU/250ml 0 0 1/100 ml 0 4 5

<2.20 -

Nil Nil -

5 Aureus/250 ml Pseudomonas

6 Aeruginosa/250 ml 7 Faecal Streptococci/20 ml MPN/20ml

3.9

Water Quality Standards of Vietnam, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.
Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l pCi/l mg/l mg/l Vietnam 0.05 10 0.01 1 0.01 2 0.05 2 45 3 0.01 5 Japan <0.2 <0.5 <0.05 <0.05 <350 <0.05 <0.01 <1.5 100-500 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <5.0 <0.05 <250 <0.001 <1000 <5 China 0.05 0.01 0.05 250 1 0.01 0.8 250 0.3 0.05 0.05 0.001 10 ND 0.1 0.01 0.05 250 500 5 H. Kong 0.01 1.5 0.7 0.3 0.003 0.05 250 2 0.07 1.5 0.3 0.01 0.5 0.001 50 3 0.01 250 1.0 Bq/I 1000 3 Korea 0.05 0.5 0.01 0.05 150 1 ND 1 300 0.3 0.1 0.3 ND 10 0.01 200 0.005 1 Taiwan 0.05 0.01 0.05 250 1 0.01 0.8 250 0.3 0.05 0.05 0.001 10 ND 0.1 0.01 0.05 250 500 5

A. Chemical Quality
Sr.# Substances 1 Arsenic (As) 2 Ammonium (NH4) 3 Barium (Ba) 4 Borate (BO3) 5 Cadmium (Cd) 6 Chromium (Cr) 7 Chloride (Cl) 8 Chlorine (Cl2) 9 Copper (Cu) 10 COD 11 Cyanide (Cn) 12 Fluoride (F) 13 Hardness (CaCO3) 14 Iodine (I) 15 Iron (Fe) 16 Lead (Pb) 17 Manganese (Mn) 18 Mercury (Hg) 19 Nitrate (NO3) 20 Nitrite (NO2) 21 Organic Matter 22 Selenium (Se) 23 Silver (Ag) 24 Sulphate (SO4) 25 Phenolic 26 Total Beta activity 27 TDS 28 Zinc (Zn)

B. Microbiological Quality 1 Total Plate Count/ml CFU/ml 2 Coliform (MPN/100 ml) MPN/100ml 3 Escherichia coli MPN/100ml <10 2.2 <15.100 100 3 <2.2 <100 0 0/100 ml

3.10

Water Quality Standards of Saudi Arabia, Guam, Australia, Argentina, Mexico and Canada.
Unit mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l pCi/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l pCi/l mg/l mg/l mg/l mg/l pCi/l pCi/l mg/l mg/l S. Arabia Guam Australia Argentina Mexico Canada 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.025 0.2 0.5 1 1 1 0.7 1 30 5 0.01 0.01 0.005 0.01 0.005 0.005 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 250 250 350 250 0.01 0.5 0.1 1 1 1 2 1 3 0.05 0.1 0.10 0.2 1.5 2 2 0.3 0.3 2 0.3 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.01 0.05 0.05 2 0.1 0.05 0.002 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001 10 45 45 10 45 0.01 0.1 3.2 0.01 0.01 0.05 0.01 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.5 0.05 250 250 500 250 0.001 0.001 0.001 3 5 1 8 500 1500 500 5 5 5 5 3 <1 <2.20 Max.10 500 3 Negative Negative 100 <2 100 0 0

A. Chemical Quality
Sr.# Substances 1 Arsenic (As) 2 Ammonium (NH4) 3 Barium (Ba) 4 Borate (BO3) 5 Cadmium (Cd) 6 Chromium (Cr) 7 Chloride (Cl) 8 Chlorine (Cl2) 9 Copper (Cu) 10 COD 11 Cyanide (Cn) 12 Fluoride (F) 13 Iron (Fe) 14 Lead (Pb) 15 Manganese (Mn) 16 Mercury (Hg) 17 Nitrate (NO3) 18 Nitrite (NO2) 19 Selenium (Se) 20 Silver (Ag) 21 Surfactant 22 Sulfide (S) 23 Sulphate (SO4) 24 Phenolic 25 Ra 226 activity 26 Total Beta activity 27 TDS 28 Zinc (Zn)

B. Microbiological Quality
1 2 3 4 Total Plate Count/ml CFU/ml Coliform (MPN/100 ml) MPN/100ml Escherichia coli MPN/100ml Pseudomonas Aeruginosa/250 ml CFU/250ml