From Vijay Krishna, India Water Portal, Bangalore
Posted 16 July 2008

I am Vijay Krishna, manager of India Water Portal, https://www.indiawaterportal.org, a website dedicated to water issues. India Water Portal is an open collaborative platform for compiling and sharing knowledge on the water sector and for dialogue. The Water Portal is supported and maintained by Arghyam, http://www.arghyam.org, a trust based in Bangalore and focussed on water issues.

The Water Portal frequently receives questions on water problems from NGOs and citizens; to help answer these concerns has implemented a “question-answer service.” Many questions that come to us are on water quality, a reflection of the increasing number of water quality issues being seen around the country (for example https://www.indiawaterportal.org/ask).

In most cases, the first step in addressing the problem is to get the water tested and find out the specific contaminants. We have therefore seen the need for a comprehensive listing of good water quality testing labs across the country. A beginning has been made here: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/blog/index.php/2008/05/20/water-testing-labs-informationrequired/, but much more information is required.

We therefore request members to provide information on the following:

• Names and contact numbers of known and reputed water quality testing labs from across the country
• Names and contact details of hydrogeologists or firms that will do hydrogeological studies for people to understand the nature of groundwater in their area, usually relating to help with borewells

Other resource lists that the Portal is compiling are as follows:

• Water Quality Field Testing Kits: https://www.indiawaterportal.org/data/kits/

We request additions to these resource lists for use by the broader community and public and also welcome any further ideas/recommendations for taking this effort forward

Such resource listings will help the Water Portal to respond more effectively to people's requests for help, and will be a resource for use for all community members. Coupled with good information on water quality standards, filtration methods etc., it will empower more citizens to understand their water quality problems, create effective coping strategies and be part of a broader, sustainable solution.

Please see attachment below for the responses.