Water Pakistan

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY (NSDWQ)

National Standards for Drinking Water Quality

PROPERTIES/PARAMETERS	STANDARD VALUES FOR PAKISTAN	WHO STANDARDS	REMARKS
Bacterial
All water intended for drinking (e.Coli or Thermotolerant Coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Treated water entering the distribution system (E.Coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Treated water in the distribution system (E.coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample In case of large supplies, where sufficient samples are examined, must not be present in 95% of the samples taken throughout any 12-month period.	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample In case of large supplies, where sufficient samples are examined, must not be present in 95% of the samples taken throughout any 12-month period.	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Physical
Colour	≤15 TCU	≤15 TCU
Taste	Non objectionable/Acceptable	Non objectionable/Acceptable
Odour	Non objectionable/Acceptable	Non objectionable/Acceptable
Turbidity	‹ 5 NTU	‹ 5 NTU
Total hardness as CaCO3	< 500 mg/l	—
TDS	‹ 1000	‹ 1000
pH	6.5 – 8.5	6.5 – 8.5
Chemical
Essential Inorganic	mg/Litre	mg/Litre
Aluminium (Al) mg/1	<0.2	0.2
Antimony (Sb)	<0.005 (P)	0.02
Arsenic (As)	< 0.05 (P)	0.01	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Barium (Ba)	0.7	0.7
Boron (B)	0.3	0.3
Cadmium (Cd)	0.01	0.003	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Chloride (Cl)	<250	250
Chromium (Cr)	<0.05	0.05
Copper (Cu)	2	2
Toxic Inorganic	mg/Litre	mg/Litre
Cyanide (CN)	<0.05	0.07	Standard for Pakistan similar to Asian developing countries
Fluoride (F)*	<1.5	1.5
Lead (Pb)	<0.05	0.01	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Manganese (Mn)	< 0.5	0.5
Mercury (Hg)	<0.001	0.001
Nickel (Ni)	<0.02	0.02
Nitrate (NO3)*	<50	50
Nitrite (NO2)*	<3 (P)	3
Selenium (Se)	0.01(P)	0.01
Residual chlorine	0.2-0.5 at consumer end 0.5-1.5 at source	–
Zinc (Zn)	5.0	3	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
*    indicates priority health related inorganic constituents which need regular monitoring.
Organic
Pesticides mg/L		PSQCA No. 4639-2004, Page No. 4 Table No. 3 Serial No. 20- 58 may be consulted.***
Phenolic compounds (as Phenols) mg/L		< 0.002
Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (as PAH) g/L		0.01 ( By GC/MS method)
Radioactive
Alpha Emitters bq/L or pCi	0.1	0.1
Beta emitters	1	1

*** PSQCA: Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority

Proviso:

The existing drinking water treatment infrastructure is not adequate to comply with WHO guidelines. The Arsenic concentration in South Punjab and in some parts of Sindh have been found high then Revised WHO Guidelines. It will take some time to control Arsenic through treatment process. Lead concentration in the proposed standards is higher than WHO Guidelines. As the piping system for supply of drinking water in urban centres are generally old and will take significant resources and time to get them replaced. In the recent past, Lead was completely phased out from petroleum products to cut down Lead entering into environment. These steps will enable to achieve WHO guidelines for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Zinc. However, for bottled water, WHO limits for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Zinc will be applicable and PSQCA Standards for all the remaining parameters.

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

PAKISTAN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY

NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR DRINKING WATER QUALITY (NSDWQ)

National Standards for Drinking Water Quality

PROPERTIES/PARAMETERS	STANDARD VALUES FOR PAKISTAN	WHO STANDARDS	REMARKS
Bacterial
All water intended for drinking (e.Coli or Thermotolerant Coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Treated water entering the distribution system (E.Coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Treated water in the distribution system (E.coli or thermo tolerant coliform and total coliform bacteria)	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample In case of large supplies, where sufficient samples are examined, must not be present in 95% of the samples taken throughout any 12-month period.	Must not be detectable in any 100 ml sample In case of large supplies, where sufficient samples are examined, must not be present in 95% of the samples taken throughout any 12-month period.	Most Asian countries also follow WHO standards
Physical
Colour	≤15 TCU	≤15 TCU
Taste	Non objectionable/Acceptable	Non objectionable/Acceptable
Odour	Non objectionable/Acceptable	Non objectionable/Acceptable
Turbidity	‹ 5 NTU	‹ 5 NTU
Total hardness as CaCO3	< 500 mg/l	—
TDS	‹ 1000	‹ 1000
pH	6.5 – 8.5	6.5 – 8.5
Chemical
Essential Inorganic	mg/Litre	mg/Litre
Aluminium (Al) mg/1	<0.2	0.2
Antimony (Sb)	<0.005 (P)	0.02
Arsenic (As)	< 0.05 (P)	0.01	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Barium (Ba)	0.7	0.7
Boron (B)	0.3	0.3
Cadmium (Cd)	0.01	0.003	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Chloride (Cl)	<250	250
Chromium (Cr)	<0.05	0.05
Copper (Cu)	2	2
Toxic Inorganic	mg/Litre	mg/Litre
Cyanide (CN)	<0.05	0.07	Standard for Pakistan similar to Asian developing countries
Fluoride (F)*	<1.5	1.5
Lead (Pb)	<0.05	0.01	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
Manganese (Mn)	< 0.5	0.5
Mercury (Hg)	<0.001	0.001
Nickel (Ni)	<0.02	0.02
Nitrate (NO3)*	<50	50
Nitrite (NO2)*	<3 (P)	3
Selenium (Se)	0.01(P)	0.01
Residual chlorine	0.2-0.5 at consumer end 0.5-1.5 at source	–
Zinc (Zn)	5.0	3	Standard for Pakistan similar to most Asian developing countries
*    indicates priority health related inorganic constituents which need regular monitoring.
Organic
Pesticides mg/L		PSQCA No. 4639-2004, Page No. 4 Table No. 3 Serial No. 20- 58 may be consulted.***
Phenolic compounds (as Phenols) mg/L		< 0.002
Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (as PAH) g/L		0.01 ( By GC/MS method)
Radioactive
Alpha Emitters bq/L or pCi	0.1	0.1
Beta emitters	1	1

*** PSQCA: Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority

Proviso:

The existing drinking water treatment infrastructure is not adequate to comply with WHO guidelines. The Arsenic concentration in South Punjab and in some parts of Sindh have been found high then Revised WHO Guidelines. It will take some time to control Arsenic through treatment process. Lead concentration in the proposed standards is higher than WHO Guidelines. As the piping system for supply of drinking water in urban centres are generally old and will take significant resources and time to get them replaced. In the recent past, Lead was completely phased out from petroleum products to cut down Lead entering into environment. These steps will enable to achieve WHO guidelines for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Zinc. However, for bottled water, WHO limits for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Zinc will be applicable and PSQCA Standards for all the remaining parameters.