This document by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation describes various elements of laboratory management practices that will ensure that the data generated is comparable and scientifically correct and is in a form that can then be used to result in interventions to improve water quality. It also includes setting-up laboratories at State, District and Sub-district level and their quality control for regular testing and surveillance of drinking water sources.

It states that although it is mandatory that the drinking water should meet with specific standards before it is consumed by people, yet water is distributed to vast majority is never tested. In the backdrop of such situation where the water supplied is not safe for consumption, it thus becomes necessary and important to ensure the safety and acceptability of drinking water.

The document begins with a brief introduction about Water Safety Plan (WSP) is one such tool that provides safe water to the people for all types of water supply systems i.e. large piped drinking water supplies, small community supplies, stand-alone household systems such as wells and also in rain harvesting systems. The tool aims to minimize risks of contamination via sanitary surveillance. It can be conjoined with water quality monitoring for ensuring safe water to the communities. It is stated that widespread WSP can contribute in the reduction of the portion of the disease emerging from poor quality of drinking water.

The next section of the document elaborates on the drinking water quality monitoring. It spells out the following aspects: definition of drinking water quality and sanitary inspection.

The third section of the draft discusses about the need to revise Uniform Protocol on Water Quality Monitoring Order, 2005. It states that the BIS standard emphasizes more on SAR, N, P, K, NH3, etc, which is not required for drinking water. Also the existing Uniform Protocol on Water Quality Monitoring relies more on BOD and COD surrogate to biological and chemical contamination. Chlorination if adopted as unit of process for disinfection in the water treatment plants is not monitored in the order. Thus there is a need to evolve a Uniform Drinking Water Quality Monitoring Protocol.

The fourth, fifth and sixth section elaborates on the functions of the water quality testing laboratories, the requirements for setting up such laboratories, safety measures to be followed in labs.

 The seventh section deals with treatment technology for laboratory wastewater.

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