Drinking water quality status from source to consumer: a study for Ashti town in Wardha District of Maharashtra, India

The study was carried out on the drinking water supply status from source to consumer for Ashti town in Wardha District of Maharashtra in July 2020. The overall raw water quality mitigates standards for surface water. No serious water quality problem was observed as far as the water quality of Mamdapur reservoir is concerned. High turbidity in raw water is because of rains in catchment, which carry sediments from the catchment along with the overland flow. The coliform counts observed in raw water can be attributed to faecal contamination from the catchment. The Shannon Wiener Diversity Index (SWI) ranged between 1.8 and 1.9, and the Palmer Pollution Index (PPI) of 12 for raw water samples indicate that the water is slight to moderately polluted. The operation and maintenance of the water treatment plant are not up to the mark. The variability in bacterial contamination in treated water and water at consumer end was attributed to en-route contamination due to leakages in distribution pipelines. The proper operation and maintenance of water treatment plant, repairing and replacement of the distribution pipeline, good sanitary conditions around the public taps, appropriate water storage and the consumers' hygienic habits are essential in achieving safe drinking water supply in the town.