INDIAN STANDARDS: DRINKING WATER – SPECIFICATIONS (FIRST REVISION)

(AMENDMENT NO.1 JANUARY 1993)

TO

INDIAN STANDARDS: DRINKING WATER – SPECIFICATIONS (FIRST REVISION)

IS 10500 : 1991

S.No.	Substance or Characteristic	Requirement (Desirable Limit)	Undesirable effect – outside the desirable limit	Permissible limit in the absence of alternate source	Methods of test (Ref. to IS)	Remarks
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Essential characteristics:
1.	Colour, Hazen units, Max.	5	Above 5 consumer acceptance decreases	25	3025 (Part 4) 1983	Extended to 25 only if toxic substances are not suspected in the absence of alternate source
2.	Odour	Unobjectionable	--	--	3025 (Part 5) 1983	a.  Test cold and when heated. b. Test at several dilutions.
3.	Taste	Agreeable	--	--	3025 (Part 7 & 8) 1984	Test to be conducted only after safety has been established.
4.	Turbidity, NTU, Max.	5	Above 5 consumer acceptance decreases	10	3025 (Part 10) 1984	--
5.	PH value	6.5– 8.5	Beyond this range the water will affect the mucous membrane and / or water supply system	No relaxation	3025 (Part 11) 1984	--
6.	Total Hardness (as CaCO3) mg/L, Max.	300	Encrustation in water supply structure and adverse effects on domestic use.	600	3025 (Part 21) 1983	--
7.	Iron as Fe, mg/L, Max.	0.3	Beyond this limit taste / appearance are affected, has adverse effect on domestic uses and water supply structures and promotes iron bacteria	1	32 of 3025, 1964	--
8.	Chlorides as Cl-, mg/L, Max.	250	Beyond this limit, taste, corrosion and palatability are affected	1000	3025 (Part 32) 1988	--

S.No.	Substance or Characteristic	Requirement (Desirable Limit)	Undesirable effect – outside the desirable limit	Permissible limit in the absence of alternate source	Methods of test (Ref. to IS)	Remarks
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
9.	Residual free chlorine, mg/L	0.2	--	--	3025 (Part 26) 1986	To be applicable only when water is chlorinated.  Tested at consumer end.  When protection against viral infection required, it should be minimum 0.5mg/L
10.	Fluoride as F-, mg/L, Max.	1.0	Fluoride may be kept as low as possible.  High fluoride may cause fluorosis.	1.5	23 of 3025 1964	--
Desirable characteristics:
11.	Dissolved solids, mg/L, Max.	500	Beyond this palatability decreases and may cause gastro intestinal irritation	2000	3025 (Part 16) 1984	--
12.	Calcium as Ca+2, mg/L, Max.	75	Encrustation in water supply structure and adverse effect on domestic use	200	3025 (Part 40) 1991	--
13.	Magnesium as Mg+2, mg/L, Max.	30	Encrustation in water supply structure and adverse effect on domestic use	100	16, 33, 34 of IS 3025: 1964	--
14.	Copper as Cu, mg/L, Max.	0.05	Astringent taste, discolouration and corrosion of pipes fitting and utensils will be caused beyond this	1.5	36 of 3025: 1964	--
15.	Manganese as Mn, mg/L, Max.	0.1	Beyond this limit taste / appearance are affected, has adverse effect on domestic uses and water supply structures and promotes iron bacteria	0.3	35 of 3025: 1964	--

S.No.	Substance or Characteristic	Requirement (Desirable Limit)	Undesirable effect – outside the desirable limit	Permissible limit in the absence of alternate source	Methods of test (Ref. to IS)	Remarks
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
16.	Sulphate as SO4-2 mg/L, Max.	200	Beyond this causes gastro intestinal irritation when magnesium or sodium are present	400 (see Col.7)	3025 (Part 24) 1986	May be extended upto 400 provided Magnesium as Mg+2 does not exceed 30
17.	Nitrate as NO3- mg/L, Max.	45	Beyond this methaemoglobinemia takes place	100	3025 (Part 34) 1988	--
18.	Phenolic compounds as C6H5OH, mg/L, Max.	0.001	Beyond this, it may cause objectionable taste and odour	0.002	54 of 3025, 1964	--
19.	Mercury as Hg, mg/L, Max.	0.001	Beyond this, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	(see note) Mercury ion analyzer	To be tested when pollution is suspected
20.	Cadmium as Cd, mg/L, Max.	0.01	Beyond this, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	(See note)	To be tested when pollution is suspected
21.	Selenium as Se, mg/L, Max.	0.01	Beyond this, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	28 of 3025: 1964	To be tested when pollution is suspected
22.	Arsenic as As, mg/L, Max.	0.05	Beyond this, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	3025 (Part 37): 1988	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
23.	Cyanide as CN, mg/L, Max.	0.05	Beyond this limit, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	3025 (Part 27): 1986	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
24.	Lead as Pb, mg/L, Max.	0.05	Beyond this limit, the water becomes toxic	No relaxation	(See note)	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
25.	Zinc as Zn, mg/L, Max.	5	Beyond this limit it can cause astringent taste and an opalescence in water	15	39 of 3025: 1964	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
26.	Anionic detergents as MBAS, mg/L, Max.	0.2	Beyond this limit it can cause a light froth in water	1.0	Methyleneblue extraction method	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
27.	Chromium as Cr6+, mg/L, Max.	0.05	May be carcinogenic above this limit	No relaxation	38 of 3025: 1964	To be tested when pollution is suspected.

S.No.	Substance or Characteristic	Requirement (Desirable Limit)	Undesirable effect – outside the desirable limit	Permissible limit in the absence of alternate source	Methods of test (Ref. to IS)	Remarks
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
28.	Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons as PAH, mg/L, Max.	--	May be carcinogenic	--	--	--
29.	Mineral oil, mg/L, Max.	0.01	Beyond this limit undesirable taste and odor after chlorination take place	0.03	Gas chromatographic method	To be tested when pollution is suspected.
30.	Pesticides, mg/L, Max.	Absent	Toxic	0.001	--	--
31.	Radioactive materials a. Alpha emitters Bq/L, Max. b. Beta emitters pci/L, Max.	-- --	-- --	0.1 1	58 of 3025: 1964	--
32.	Alkalinity, mg/L, Max.	200	Beyond this limit taste becomes unpleasant	600	13 of 3025: 1964	--
33.	Aluminium as Al mg/L, Max.	0.03	Cumulative effect is reported to cause dementia	0.2	31 of 3025: 1964	--
34.	Boron as B, mg/L, Max.	1	--	5	29 of 3025: 1964	--

Note:   Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric method may be used.

Water quality criteria for different uses

(specified by CPCB, 1979 and the Bureau of Indian Standards, 1982)

S.No	Water quality parameter	Characteristic of water body
		A *	B *	C *	D *	E *
1	Dissolved Oxygen (DO) mg/l (minimum)	6	5	4	4	3
2	Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), mg/l (max)	2	3	3	-	-
3	Total Coliform organisms ** MPN/100ml (max)	50 **	500	500	-	-
4	Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) mg/l (max)	500	-	1500	-	2100
5	Chlorides (as Cl-) mg/l (max)	250	-	600	-	600
6	Colour, Hazen units (max)	-	10	300	300	-
7	Sodium Absorption Ratio (max)	-	-	-	-	20
8	Boron (as B), mg/l (max)	-	-	-	-	-
9	Sulphates (as SO4-2), mg/l (max)	400	-	400	-	1000
10	Nitrates (as NO3-) mg/l (max)	20	-	50	-	-
11	Free Ammonia (as NH3) mg/l (max)	-	-	-	1.2	-
12	Conductivity at 25oC micro mhos/cm (max)	-	-	-	1000	2500
13	pH value	6.5-8.5	6.5-8.5	6.5-8.5	6.5-8.5	6.0-8.5
14	Arsenic (as As), mg/l (max)	0.05	0.2	0.2	-	-
15	Iron (as Fe), mg/l (max)	0.3	-	-	0.5	-
16	Fluoride (as F), mg/l (max)	1.5	1.5	1.5	-	-
17	Lead (as Pb), mg/l (max)	0.1	-	0.1	-	-

 

Note: *      Classes of Water use:

A        Drinking water source without conventional treatment but after disinfection

B        Out door bathing (organised)

C        Drinking water source with conventional treatment followed by disinfection.

D        Propagation of wild life, fisheries.

E        Irrigation, industrial cooling, controlled waste disposal.

**    If the coliform is found to be more than the prescribed tolerance limits, the criteria for coliforms shall be satisfied if not more than 20 percent of samples show more than the tolerance limits specified and not more than 5 percent of samples show values more than 4 times the tolerance limits.  There should be no visible discharge of domestic and industrial waste into class “A” waters.  In case of classes “B” and “C” the discharge shall be so regulated / treated as to ensure maintenance of the stream standards.

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS (NATIONAL)

Pollutants	Time weighted average	Concentration in ambient air			Method of measurement
		Industrial areas	Residential Rural & other areas	Sensitive areas
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)	Annual average* 24 hours**	80 mg/m3 120 mg/m3	60 mg/m3 80 mg/m3	15 mg/m3 30 mg/m3	Improved West and Geake method Ultraviolet fluorescence
Oxides of Nitrogen as NO2	Annual average* 24 hours**	80 mg/m3 120 mg/m3	60 mg/m3 80 mg/m3	15 mg/m3 30 mg/m3	Jacob & Hochheiser Modified (Na-Arsenite) method Gas phase chemiluminescence
Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM)	Annual average* 24 hours**	360 mg/m3 500 mg/m3	140 mg/m3 200 mg/m3	70 mg/m3 100 mg/m3	High volume sampling, (Average flow rate not less than 1.1 m3/minute)
Respirable Particulate Matter (RPM) (size less than 10 microns)	Annual average* 24 hours**	120 mg/m3 150 mg/m3	60 mg/m3 100 mg/m3	50 mg/m3 75 mg/m3	Respirable particulate matter sampler
Lead (Pb)	Annual average* 24 hours**	1.0 mg/m3 1.5 mg/m3	0.75 mg/m3 1.0 mg/m3	0.5 mg/m3 0.75 mg/m3	ASS method after sampling using EPM 2000 or equivalent filter paper
Ammonia	Annual average* 24 hours**	0.1 mg/m3 0.4 mg/m3	0.1 mg/m3 0.4 mg/m3	0.1 mg/m3 0.4 mg/m3
Carbon Monoxide (CO)	8 hours** 1 hour	5.0 mg/m3 10.0 mg/m3	2.0 mg/m3 4.0 mg/m3	1.0 mg/m3 2.0 mg/m3	Non Dispersive Infra RED (NDIR) Spectroscopy

*          Annual arithmetic mean of minimum 104 measurements in a year taken twice a week 24 hourly at uniform interval.

**         24 hourly/8 hourly values should be met 98% of the time in a year.  However,  2% of the time, it may exceed but not on two consecutive days.

Note:

1.     National Ambient Air Quality Standard:  The levels of air quality with an adequate margin of safety, to protect the public health, vegetation and property.

2.     Whenever and wherever two consecutive values exceeds the limit specified above for the respective category, it would be considered adequate reason to institute regular / continuous monitoring and further investigations.

3.    The standards for H2S and CS2 have been notified separately vide GSR No. 7, dated December 22^nd 1998 under Rayon industry – for details please see Sl No. 65 of this document.

ANDHRA PRADESH POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD

A3, I.E.Sanathnagar, Hyderabad - 500018

NOISE (AMBIENT STANDARDS)

Area code	Category of area	Limit in dB (A) Leq
		Day time	Night time
A	Industrial area	75	70
B	Commercial area	65	55
C	Residential area	55	45
D	Silence zone	50	40

Note:

1.    Day time is reckoned in between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

2.    Night time is reckoned in between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

3.    Silence zone is defined as areas upto 100 meters around such premises as hospitals, educational institutions and courts.  The silence zones are to be declared by the competent authority

4.    Mixed categories of areas should be declared as “one of the four above mentioned categories by the competent authority and the corresponding standard shall apply