Pune: Contamination of tap water in Mumbai has jumped twofold in the last year, a test of samples at the State Public Health Laboratory here has shown.
   “Tap water samples from Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Solapur were found contaminated during testing. The samples had excessive bacterial contamination, with some showing a subtype faecal coliform (bacteria found in excreta),’’ said laboratory deputy director Ravindra Vaidya on Thursday. Water samples from 22 municipal corporations were tested and analysed and most of them were found to be unpotable.
   Mumbai’s case is alarming—26% of the water samples tested between April 2009 and February 2010 were found to be contaminated against 13% in the previous one-year period. Of the 18,755 samples taken from across the city, as many as 4,783 were found unfit for drinking. The areas that report maximum contamination complaints are in south Mumbai and the suburbs, where pipelines are older and, therefore, prone to leaks.

Pune water found to be cleanest

Pune: The areas in the city which have filed the most number of water contamination complaints are Kalbadevi, Dadar, Wadala, Parel, Lalbag, Antop Hill and Andheri (East).
   In the rest of the state, a more alarming situation was reported from Kolhapur, where contamination has risen four-fold in the last one year. “Of the total 2,142 water samples collected within the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation’s limits, 498 were found polluted this year. Last year, of the total 3,376 samples, 177 samples were found unfit for drinking,’’ said Vaidya. Nagpur also had cause for worry with 23% of its samples testing unpotable as against last year’s 16%.
   The water quality in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad was found to be almost safe for consumption with near-zero contamination.

What causes the pollution    

The contamination may be largely due to unhygienic conditions in specific localities and because of the mixing of sewage with the water lines. Water lines run through dirty pools of water, are placed parallel to sewage lines, or are damaged either within the building compounds or on the roads.
   Poor maintenance of overhead and underground tanks is another cause. Old water pipe lines are also among the prominent reasons for deterioration of the water quality in cities, he added.
   According to the World Health Organization, there should be no faecal coliform (bacteria found in excreta) in drinking water. The presence of this bacteria is linked to diseases like dysentery, cholera and typhoid.