India publishes regulation on use of water purification system

On October 9, 2021, India’s Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change published “Environment (Protection) 115 Amendment Rules, 2021” to add regulation on use of water purification system (WPS). Users of domestic water purification system (DWPS) and other water purification system (ODPWS) have to comply with the guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) within six months of the promulgation of this regulation.

DWPS means an appliance or device containing a water purification system of up to 25 liters per hour using reverse osmosis that reduces total dissolved solids (TDS) in water, reduces chemical contamination to safe levels, and removes physical particles, including microbial impurities, at the point of use (PoU).

Equipment or devices containing similar water purification system, but greater than 25 liters per hour, belong to ODPWS.

Provisions for Domestic Water Purification System (DWPS)

• All DWPS manufactured, imported, produced or assembled shall comply with Indian Standard IS16240 and bear the Standard Mark in accordance with Scheme I of Annexure II of the Bureau of Indian Standards (Conformity Assessment) Rules, 2018.
• The elements disposed of from the DWPS have to be managed in accordance with the provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, E-waste (Management) Rules and Hazardous Waste Management Rules. These plastics and E-waste to be disposed of shall also be placed under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
• The manufacturers of DWPS are required to submit a compliance report to the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) etc. and in some cases to the CPCB as well, not later than November 30 of the next financial year.

Provisions for Other Water Purification Systems (ODPWS)

• The users of ODPWS need to apply for approval and register the same with the SPCB etc. within six months from the publication of this amendment, as the case may be.
• The users of ODPWS have to operate it within the limits of the rules framed under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. However, facilities in operation prior to the date of publication of the amendment must apply for Consent to Operate (CTO) to the SPCB etc. within six months of publication, as the case may be.

This amendment will come into force 18 months after its publication.

The amendment can be downloaded from the following URL.
https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2021/230296.pdf