PHED minister Jacob Zhimomi officially inaugurated the State Water Quality Testing Laboratory at Supply Colony, here on Tuesday. It may be mentioned that the laboratory upgraded from district laboratory in 2013 was functioning from the previous location at Landmark/PWD colony until the establishment of new building at Supply Colony.
The state laboratory is also a referral laboratory for confirmatory test of results conducted at district PHED laboratories. The state laboratory has a facility to test physical, chemical and bacteriological contaminants in water and has the facility to test physical, chemical and bacteriological contaminants in water.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inaugural programme, the PHED minister said that priority of the department was to ensure best adequate water supply and safe drinking water to the households in the state. Zhimomi said that district laboratories, which were also well established and functional, were open to public.
Asked about the public discontent with water scarcity in the hilly areas, the minister pointed out that since traditional local sources have been dried up due to building of concrete structures and other development activities it was also the primary concern of the department and the government to opt for alternate ways.
On the issue of water bill payment, the minister has called for paying the bill on time and behavioural change in water usage to ensure its adequate supply.
The chief engineer sanitation & WSSO PHED, Er N Thsathrichem Sangtam, stressed on the importance of testing of water, saying the test results help properly addressing the specific problems of a water supply.
He said it was therefore important to test the suitability of water quality for its intended use.
Highlighting on the availability of materials of testing water in the state lab, PHED state chemist Roland Kikon informed that some of the parameters which can be tested in the lab include pH, TDS, Turbidity, Total hardness, Calcium ions, Magnesium ions, Iron, Nitrate, Chloride, Fluoride, Free chlorine, H2S strip vials etc. he said test reports would be as per the specification of Bureau of Indian Standards, IS 10500:2012 (for drinking water). Kikon said that the state lab was in the process of getting accreditation from National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). The lab was dedicated by Lotha Baptist Church Dimapur (LBCD) senior associate pastor Yanbemo Lotha.