Drinking Water Test Logger (FTK / IS 10500)

Field guide: Drinking Water Test Logger (FTK / IS 10500)

Field test kits put water-quality surveillance in village hands — and the kit is only half the system; the other half is a record that survives staff changes and monsoon seasons. This logger checks each FTK result against IS 10500 limits on entry: fluoride above 1.0 mg/L in a fluorosis belt, nitrate above 45 (the blue-baby line, with no permissible relaxation), residual chlorine below 0.2 at the tap end of a piped scheme — each flags red the moment it's keyed in, GPS-tied to its source.

The parameter set mirrors what FTKs actually measure and what drives action: pH and TDS for general acceptability, chlorine for disinfection proof, and the geogenic pair (fluoride, iron) plus nitrate that determine whether a source needs treatment or replacement. Trends matter doubly here — a post-monsoon nitrate climb at a well tells a sanitary story the single test can't. FTK positives route to district-lab confirmation; this log is the trail that gets them there.

Field tips

• Always test the post-monsoon round — contamination peaks when recharge carries surface pollution into sources.
• Chlorine below 0.2 at the tail-end tap with normal levels at the OHT means the distribution line is consuming it — look for leaks/intrusion.
• Run FTK color comparisons in daylight, not under tube lights — the most common reading error in the field is lighting, not chemistry.

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