VIJAYAWADA: Consuming untreated or contaminated water due to defunct pipelines can cause waterborne diseases, warn doctors. “Contamination of drinking water causes many types of diseases like typhoid, diarrhoea, hepatitis, cholera and other viral infections,” said general physician K Vijay Kumar. He added that diarrhoea and typhoid are the most common diseases caused due to consumption of impure water. It can also lead to jaundice and severe stomach infections.
Drinking contaminated water regularly can have long-term side effects too. “Groundwater mostly gets contaminated with leakages in sewage lines or through septic tanks. It has high concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) which essentially needs to be reduced to make water potable. It might also contain other hazardous elements. For instance, drinking water containing fluoride might lead to fluorosis,” said Vijay Kumar.