Water Quality Inequity in Shallow Tube Wells of Bhubaneswar City

Goal 6 of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), prescribed by the United Nations and signed by India, directs to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Some of the targets set to be accomplished by 2030 include to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all. The demand for water has increased tremendously in the urban areas as in Bhubaneswar due to escalating population growth in the past decades and surge of migrants from all parts of the country, in turn soaring the water quality issues, as recently stated by the Public Health Laboratory, Bhubaneswar in 2019. The people lacking permanent settlement are mostly devoid of municipality water supply and the shallow tube wells are available source for fulfilling the demand of water. Researchers have warned that the pollution of shallow ground water of Bhubaneswar is a major threat at the moment. In this context a study has been done in the existing shallow tube wells of different wards of Bhubaneswar, mostly used by the people of low-income group for drinking water purposes. Water samples have been collected from different shallow tube wells using random sampling technique. The parameters like PH, Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Conductivity, DO, TDS, BOD and Chloride have been measured and Water Quality Index has been calculated using Weighted Arithmetic Mean Method. The analysis reveals that the major quality deterioration has occurred Chirkhal Toli Slum tube well in ward no 1 and in the existing tube wells of ward no 2 in Prashanti Vihar, Munda Sahi, KIIT Campus and Sikharchandi Slum Area. Similarly, out of four samples in ward no 3, the tube well of Patia village indicates deterioration in the quality. However, the shallow tube well of ward numbers 6, 7 and 8 displays good water quality.