“Water Safety Plan for Six Villages in Panhala Region”

Ensuring safe drinking water access remains a critical public health objective, particularly across rugged, topographically challenging terrains. This study presents a rigorous cross-sectional evaluation of household drinking water quality across six distinct rural habitations (Pombre, Undri, Ambarde, Bongewadi, Chavanwadi, and Golivade) in the Panhala region of the eco-sensitive Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India. Water quality dynamics were monitored across two consecutive hydrological cycles (2022–2023 and 2023–2024), capturing variations across pre-monsoon and post-monsoon phases. Laboratory analysis tracked key physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters including pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Turbidity, Total Hardness (TH), Total Solids (TS), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Chlorides, Nitrates, and Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliforms per 100 mL. The empirical findings reveal that while crucial chemical indices—including pH (mean 7.2), TDS (mean 105.9 mg/L), and Total Hardness (mean 144.3 mg/L)—consistently complied with the safety limits defined by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), critical systemic failures were identified in physical and microbiological indicators. Mean turbidity across five of the six monitored villages was 9.4 NTU, vastly exceeding the permissible 5 NTU threshold, peaking at 15.8 NTU in Pombre due to monsoonal runoff and heavy soil erosion. Crucially, every single sampled household tested positive for microbial contamination, with mean MPN values ranging from 58.0 to 337.4 coliforms/100 mL, and fecal coliform counts reaching up to 134 coliforms/100 mL in Chavanwadi. Field surveys established that these contamination profiles stem directly from unscientific, arbitrary bleaching powder dosing at centralized Gram Panchayat storage reservoirs, cross-contamination within aging distribution pipelines, and unhygienic household storage practices. The study underscores the immediate, vital need to transition from conventional retroactive water testing to proactive, source-to-consumer Water Safety Plans (WSPs) integrated with structured community training to mitigate waterborne disease burdens in rural environments.

Water Safety Plan, Public Health, Turbidity, Microbial Contamination, Western Ghats

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