VIJAYAWADA: Government of Andhra Pradesh has approved a comprehensive State Action Plan and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Drinking Water Quality Monitoring, Surveillance and Public Disclosure across all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), aimed at ensuring safe and reliable drinking water supply and preventing waterborne disease outbreaks.
The initiative comes in the backdrop of recent public health concerns in certain urban areas and is designed to establish a robust, technology-enabled and accountable water quality monitoring system.
At its core, the initiative is driven by clearly defined public health and governance objectives. The State Action Plan seeks to ensure that drinking water supplied across all ULBs complies with BIS IS 10500:2012 standards, establish a multi-layered and scientific water quality monitoring system, and enable early detection and timely response to contamination incidents.
It further aims to prevent waterborne disease outbreaks, strengthen field-level testing capacity, and institutionalise real-time monitoring and public disclosure of water quality data, thereby enhancing transparency and citizen confidence in urban service delivery.
According to Principal Secretary, MA&UD Department, S Suresh Kumar, the State Action Plan introduces a multi-layered water quality monitoring framework, integrating field-level testing, laboratory strengthening, and real-time digital reporting through the APCMMS platform. It mandates the deployment of handheld residual chlorine testing devices at the ward level, digital water testing kits at ULB level, upgradation of in-house laboratories at Water Treatment Plants, and establishment of mobile water testing laboratories across all erstwhile districts to enable rapid response during contamination events.
A key feature of the framework is the adoption of a risk-based vulnerability mapping approach, under which urban areas will be classified into high, moderate and low-risk zones based on pipeline conditions, contamination history, and population density.
This will enable targeted sampling, enhanced surveillance in vulnerable areas, and efficient allocation of resources for preventive monitoring. The SOP makes residual chlorine (RC) testing a non-negotiable safety parameter, mandating daily testing across the entire water supply chain-from treatment plants to consumer endpoints-with strict minimum standards prescribed.
Any deviation or failure triggers a structured escalation protocol, including immediate verification, advanced testing, field inspection, and corrective measures such as chlorination, and repair of leakages.
Further, the Government has laid down time-bound contamination detection and response protocols, ensuring that mobile laboratories are deployed within hours of suspected contamination and that supply is halted and alternative arrangements made in case of confirmed bacteriological contamination.
The SOP also prescribes comprehensive testing regimes covering physical, chemical, bacteriological, heavy metals and pesticide parameters in accordance with BIS standards, ensuring holistic water quality assessment.