Water testing is a broad description for various procedures used to analyze water quality. Millions of water quality tests are carried out daily to fulfill regulatory requirements and to maintain safety.
Testing may be performed to evaluate: ambient or environmental water quality – the ability of a surface water body to support aquatic life as an ecosystem. See Environmental monitoring, Freshwater environmental quality parameters and Bioindicator. wastewater – characteristics of polluted water (domestic sewage or industrial waste) before treatment or after treatment. See Environmental chemistry and Wastewater quality indicators. "raw water" quality – characteristics of a water source prior to treatment for domestic consumption (drinking water). See Bacteriological water analysis and specific tests such as turbidity and hard water. "finished" water quality – water treated at a municipal water purification plant. See Bacteriological water analysis and :Category:Water quality indicators. suitability of water for industrial uses such as laboratory, manufacturing or equipment cooling. See purified water.
Government regulation
Government regulations related to water testing and water quality for some major countries is given below.
China
Ministry of Environmental Protection
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China is the nation's environmental protection department charged with the task of protecting China's air, water, and land from pollution and contamination. Directly under the State Council, it is empowered and required by law to implement environmental policies and enforce environmental laws and regulations. Complementing its regulatory role, it funds and organizes research and development. See Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China.
Regulatory challenges and debates
In late 2009, a survey was carried out by China Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to assess the water quality of urban supplies in China's cities, which revealed that "at least 1,000" water treatment plants out of more than 4,000 plants surveyed at the county level and above failed to comply with government requirements. The survey results were never formally released to the public, but in 2012, China's Century Weekly published the leaked survey data. In response, Wang Xuening, a health ministry official, released figures derived from a pilot monitoring scheme in 2011 and suggested that 80% of China's urban tap water was up to standard.
China's new drinking water standards involve 106 indicators. Of China's 35 major cities, only 40% of cities have the capacity to test for all 106 indicators. The department in charge of local water and the health administration department will enter into a discussion to determine results for more than 60 of the new measures; hence it is not required to test the water using every indicator. The grading of water quality is based on an overall average of 95% to fulfill government requirements. The frequency of water quality inspections at water treatment plants is twice yearly.
Pakistan
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources
Established in 1964, the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources aims to conduct, organize, coordinate and promote research in all aspects of water resources. As a national research organization, it undertakes and promotes applied and basic research in different disciplines of water sector.
Recent developments
In March 2013, Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali notified the National Assembly that groundwater samples collected revealed that only 15-18% samples were deemed safe for drinking both in urban and rural areas in Pakistan. The Ministry has created 24 Water Quality Testing Laboratories across Pakistan, developed and commercialized water quality test kits, water filters, water disinfection tablets and drinking water treatment sachets, conducted training for 2,660 professionals of water supply agencies and surveyed 10,000 water supply schemes out of a grand total of 12,000 schemes.
United Kingdom
Drinking Water Inspectorate
The Drinking Water Inspectorate is a section of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs set up to regulate the public water supply companies in England and Wales. Water testing in England and Wales can be conducted at the environmental health office at the local authority. See Drinking Water Inspectorate.