Assessment of on-site sanitation practices and contamination of groundwater in rural areas of Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India

The study assesses the existing sanitation practices in the rural areas of Fatehgarh Sahib including source identification of groundwater contamination using a semi-structured questionnaire. The survey of water uses and hygiene practices was carried out in 115 rural households of Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India. Further, 45 groundwater samples were also analysed for physio-chemical examination using APHA methods. The study findings reveal that 44% of the study respondents prefer open defecation and 70% of the study participants wash their hands with soap after defecation. However, only 30% of respondents were aware of water contamination indicating poor knowledge about good hygiene practices. This is also confirmed as only 2.6% of study participants reported to treat water before consumption. The water quality in the studied villages was found poor as over 50% of the groundwater sample shows the presence of E. coli, an indication of faecal contamination. However, nitrate levels in groundwater were within acceptable limits. Fluoride concentration was above the BIS acceptable limits. Further, 60% of the groundwater samples were in moderate to very hard category. Poor water quality, sanitation and hygiene practices add to the burden of waterborne diseases and demand to create awareness and behaviour change practices to improve rural water and sanitation practices. Further, the distance between the toilet and drinking water source was not found adequate; hence, it is suggested to build guidelines to minimize the risk of waterborne diseases.