Drinking water safety concerns rise in India after deadly disease outbreaks

Officials say recent outbreaks in Indore and Gujarat were linked to sewage-contaminated water, and Delhi has ordered infrastructure audits after residents reported dirty tap water.

Recent disease outbreaks have prompted public concern about the safety of drinking water in parts of India. Authorities reported that water contaminated by raw sewage was linked to deaths in Indore and a typhoid outbreak in Gujarat. Residents in several neighbourhoods of Delhi have reported visibly dirty tap water and long-standing pipe and sewer problems. Delhi’s government has asked the public water utility to audit ageing infrastructure and prioritise repairs. Key facts: - Eighteen people died in Indore and at least 133 were hospitalised in a typhoid outbreak in Gujarat; officials reported both incidents involved water contaminated by raw sewage. - The Delhi Jal Board reported testing 7,129 drinking water samples between 1 and 18 December and found 100 labelled as "unsatisfactory." - Regulations require about 1,000 samples per day for a city of Delhi’s size, but testing is reported at roughly 300–400 samples per day, and only two of more than 25 government testing labs are accredited. - A Central Ground Water Board report noted that about 13–15% of groundwater samples in Delhi exceeded the uranium limit of 30 parts per billion; the report also identified nitrate, fluoride, lead and high salinity in some wells. Summary: Officials have linked recent deaths and illnesses to sewage-contaminated drinking water, prompting orders for audits, inspections and increased sample collection. Current testing levels and laboratory accreditation are reported as inadequate. Longer-term remediation of groundwater contamination and replacement of ageing pipelines is undetermined at this time.