Narmada dam water not fit for consumption

Officials of Gujarat Water Supply and Sewage Board (GWSSB) have declared the water of the Narmada dam to be unfit for drinking because of the high sulphide levels.

The GWSSB had previously taken water samples from the Narmada dam and main canal but had declared the sulphides levels to be very high in the water. The supply of drinking water from Narmada dam to parts of Vadodara, Chota Udepur and Narmada has since been stopped.

The GWSSB had acted on the complaints they received four days ago and collected and sent water for examination at the Gujarat Environmental Management Institute laboratory in Gandhinagar.

The reason behind the large amount of sulphide in the water can be because of dead fish, water waste of an industrial corporation nearby or more than the allowed amount of sewage being discharged into the water.

A large amount of dead fish were found in the Narmada dam last week. This happened when water from the dam was released into the dam. An official report from the Gujarat Pollution Control Board stated the fish had died because of depleted levels of oxygen in the water.

The chairman of GWSSB, J P Gupta, said that the water of Narmada dam can be consumed after proper treatment and also stated the fish might have died due to the temperature change.