My day to day experience as a water expert

“Our children just wouldn’t drink water during school hours.” That’s how a teacher from a Chennai school described the growing concern. “Every time they went near the taps, they complained about the taste. It was salty, bitter, and unpleasant. Some kids even carried extra bottles from home instead. But many stopped drinking enough water altogether. We started seeing cases of dehydration and frequent complaints of headaches,” she explained. The problem wasn’t the children. It was the water. The school relied on borewell water, which was directly fed to the drinking taps. Why Children Rejected the Water We asked: “Have you tested the TDS level of the water?” The school hadn’t. When tested, the results confirmed the suspicion — over 800 ppm TDS. Here’s what that means: Water with TDS above 300 ppm often tastes salty or metallic. Continuous consumption can cause stomach irritation, dehydration , and long-term health concerns. Children, with their sensitive taste and smaller bodies, are es...

Last Tuesday, I got a call from the facilities head of a private school in Pallikaranai, Chennai. He sounded a bit frustrated, and I could tell this wasn’t just a routine enquiry. “We’ve been getting flagged in every hygiene inspection for the past few months,” he said. “Everything else is in order — the bathrooms are cleaned regularly, and we have a proper maintenance team. But those white rings in the wash basins just won’t go away.” That caught my attention immediately. He continued, “We’ve tried scrubbing, descaling liquids, even replaced a few taps. But after two weeks, it’s back again. What are we missing?” The Real Problem: High TDS Water from Borewell The school was using borewell water for everything — from handwashing stations to cleaning floors and even in the kitchen. I asked him if they had ever tested their water quality. “No, we haven’t done a proper test. We assumed if it’s clear and has no smell, it’s fine,” he said. I explained that what they were seeing — the stubbo...