Parliament Question: Testing of Drinking Water Samples in Karnataka

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 184 ANSWERED ON 12/02/2026 TESTING OF DRINKING WATER SAMPLES IN KARNATAKA *184. SHRI G KUMAR NAIK: Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state: (a) whether any independent testing of drinking water samples has been conducted in Karnataka during the last three years under various programmes of the Government and if so, the details thereof indicating the number of samples tested, year and district-wise; (b) the number and proportion of drinking water samples in Karnataka found to be contaminated or non-compliant with prescribed quality standards during the said period, contaminant-wise including fluoride, arsenic, iron, nitrate, salinity and microbial contamination; (c) whether remedial measures have not been taken in any affected areas in the State and if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor; (d) the steps taken by the Government to address contamination in affected areas in Karnataka; and (e) whether any additional fiscal support or special funds have been provided to districts in Karnataka where water contamination has been found and if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI (SHRI C R PATIL) (a) to (e): A Statement of reply is laid on the table of the House. ***** Page 1 of 7Statement referred to in the reply to parts (a) to (e) in respect of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.*184 answered on 12/02/2026 regarding “Testing of Drinking Water Samples in Karnataka” asked by Shri G Kumar Naik. (a) to (e) Drinking Water being a State subject, the responsibility of Planning, Designing, Approval, Implementation, Operation & Maintenance of drinking water supply schemes, including those under the Jal Jeevan Mission, is vested with State/UT Governments. The Government of India supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical and financial assistance. As reported by the state of Karnataka, testing of drinking water samples has been conducted in Karnataka during the last three years under Jal Jeevan Mission. Details of district wise samples tested in the last three years is enclosed in the Annexure-1. As reported by the State, the detail of number and proportion of drinking water samples in Karnataka found to be contaminated or non-compliant with respect to prescribed quality standards during 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 (as on date) are as under: No. of samples tested in laboratory No. of samples found non- compliant with prescribed quality standards Tested for Tested for No. of samples No. of samples Year chemical bacteriological with chemical with parameters parameters contamination bacteriological contamination 2023-24 251763 46309 24917 4670 2024-25 272166 118079 17261 2574 2025-26 196194 50134 10911 452 (as on date) Further, the details of contaminant-wise (including fluoride, arsenic, iron, nitrate, salinity and microbial) contamination are enclosed in the Annexures 2(a), 2(b) and 2(c). The state of Karnataka has reported that remedial measures have been taken on regular basis pertaining to the findings of water quality reports followed by confirmatory test and routine disinfection and cleaning of OHTs are consistently carried out. Further, formation of TASK FORCE Committee at District and Taluk level to overview water quality has been reported and SOP have been issued from the State Department of Karnataka. As reported by States/UTs, as on 10.02.2026, there are 2,870 drinking water quality testing laboratories (including 107 in Karnataka) at different levels viz. State, regional, district, sub- division, block, mobile and/ or WTP facility laboratories out of which 1,707 are accredited/ recognised (including 80 in Karnataka). Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, as per existing guidelines, Bureau of Indian Standards’ BIS:10500 standards are adopted as benchmark for quality of water being supplied through the piped water supply schemes. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to households, priority is given to habitations affected by chemical contaminants. States/ UTs have Page 2 of 7been advised to plan and implement piped water supply schemes based on alternative safe water sources for the villages with water quality issues. Moreover, States/ UTs have also been advised to undertake testing of water quality on a periodic basis and take remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality. Under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), purely as an interim measure, States/ UTs have been advised to install community water purification plants (CWPPs) especially in water quality affected habitations to provide potable water to every household at the rate of 8–10 litre per capita per day (lpcd) to meet their drinking and cooking requirements. To enable the States/ UTs for online reporting of water quality monitoring and surveillance including test reports of water samples for water quality, sample collection etc. for drinking water, an online JJM – Water Quality Management Information System (WQMIS) portal has also been developed. The State–wise details of water quality test reported through WQMIS are available in public domain and can be accessed at: https://ejalshakti.gov.in/WQMIS/Main/report In consultation with various stakeholders 'Concise Handbook for Monitoring Water Quality of Piped Drinking Water Supply to Rural Households’ has been released in December 2024 for guidance to States/ UT’s. This handbook recommended for a comprehensive testing of drinking water samples at various testing points such as source, treatment plant, storage and distribution points, and remedial action wherever necessary, to ensure that the water supplied to households is of prescribed quality. As per the Operational Guidelines, States/ UTs can utilize up to 2% of their annual allocation of funds under JJM for Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance (WQM&S) activities, inter-alia, which includes setting up and strengthening of water quality testing laboratories, procurement of equipment, instruments, chemicals, glassware, consumables, hiring of skilled manpower, surveillance by community using field test kits (FTKs), awareness generation, educational programmes on water quality, accreditation/recognition of laboratories, etc. As reported by the state of Karnataka, externally aided project funds under the Karnataka Sustainable Rural Water Supply Project (Programme Period 2023-2028) have been allocated for the installation of bacteriological disinfection system and the maintenance of laboratories. ***** Page 3 of 7Annexure-1 Annexure referred to in reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No.*184 answered on 12.02.2026 Details of Samples Tested from Independent Agency S. District Name 2023-24 2024-25 2025-26 No. 1 Bagalkote 1050 152 0 2 Ballari 0 4114 1434 3 Belagavi 2666 27 0 4 Bengaluru Rural 3 2600 0 5 Bengaluru Urban 1785 19 0 6 Bidar 0 0 1188 7 Chamarajanagara 762 0 0 8 Chikkaballapura 3705 484 0 9 Chikkamagaluru 929 1244 0 10 Chitradurga 1512 0 0 11 Dakshina Kannada 0 0 0 12 Davangere 2263 4 0 13 Dharwad 580 13 0 14 Gadag 0 0 0 15 Hassan 3608 13 0 16 Haveri 2464 2 0 17 Kalaburagi 934 132 1347 18 Kodagu 759 0 0 19 Kolar 242 4138 0 20 Koppal 1716 0 0 21 Mandya 1984 409 0 22 Mysuru 1415 5265 0 23 Raichur 0 2282 1591 24 Ramanagara 2746 0 0 25 Shivamogga 1111 1537 0 26 Tumakuru 1921 0 0 27 Udupi 0 0 0 28 Uttara Kannada 0 0 0 29 Vijayanagar 1215 1 0 30 Vijayapura 1341 52 0 31 Yadgir 780 47 1225 Total 37491 22535 6785 Page 4 of 7Annexure 2(a) Drinking water samples found contaminated or non-compliant with prescribed quality standard (contaminant-wise) during 2023-24 Page 5 of 7Annexure 2(b) Drinking water samples found contaminated or non-compliant with prescribed quality standard (contaminant-wise) during 2024-25 Page 6 of 7Annexure 2(c) Drinking water samples found contaminated or non-compliant with prescribed quality standard (contaminant-wise) during 2025-26 Page 7 of 7