Addressing Drinking Water Issues Of Rural Kerala

摘要

The people of Kerala who depend on well water and pipe water supply for domestic purposes, face the problem of water contamination throughout the year and water scarcity during summer. The former results from human activities and the latter from geographical conditions and utilization beyond sustainable level. The causes of reported water quality degradation include low pH, high iron content and high concentration of coliforms. Bacterial contamination is often highlighted. The state government has launched several programmes to tackle the situation. It includes extension of piped water supply, promotion of rainwater harvesting, 'varsha' and 'sujala' projects and legislations to check over-consumption of ground water. Still problems remain partly unsolved. Construction of small dams across rivers and multi district drinking water supply projects; decontamination of well water at household level using simple devices; and boiling of water to make it bacteria free are suggested as remedial measures.