Author’s Affiliation: Department of Environmental Studies, Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi.

Abstract: The present research contribution attempts to study the increasing dependency of households in Delhi on R.O. devices and brings forward its implications on Delhi’s urban water scenario. The research focuses on five colonies in Delhi where preliminary water quality assessment was carried out so as to conduct a need assessment of installing R.O. devices versus the actual installation of these devices in individual households. Reverse osmosis is essentially a technique to reduce the hardness of water and the process involves de-mineralization or de-ionization of water by pushing it under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane. Consequently, an R.O. device is effective in households receiving water with high Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). However, an R.O. is neither required nor effective in households receiving water with low TDS, which were noted in the study area. This is because R.O. devices are not an effective method against biological impurities. Despite this limitation, over 78% of the households in the study area were found to rely on R.O. devices as a coping strategy against impaired municipal water supply. While some of these R.O. devices are also fitted with UV-filters (which help address biological impurities in water), the large-scale use of R.O. devices in households that do not require this technology poses a serious threat to urban water sustainability in Delhi.

Keywords: urban water, water supply, Delhi, R.O., water management.

First received on: 02/01/17.

How to Cite:

MPA:
Singh, Govind. “Implication of Household Use of R.O. Devices for Delhi’s Urban Water Scenario”. Journal of Innovation for Inclusive Development 2.1 (2017): 24-29.

APA:
Singh, G. (2017). Implication of Household Use of R.O. Devices for Delhi’s Urban Water Scenario. Journal of Innovation for Inclusive Development, 2(1), 24-29.

Chicago:
Singh, Govind. “Implication of Household Use of R.O. Devices for Delhi’s Urban Water Scenario”. Journal of Innovation for Inclusive Development 2, no. 1, (2017): 24-29.

Harvard:
Singh, Govind. 2017. Implication of Household Use of R.O. Devices for Delhi’s Urban Water Scenario. Journal of Innovation for Inclusive Development, 2(1), pp. 24-29.

Vancouver:
Singh G. Implication of Household Use of R.O. Devices for Delhi’s Urban Water Scenario. Journal of Innovation for Inclusive Development. 2017; 2(1):24-29.

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