Indian drinking water standards
| Characteristics | Acceptable | Cause for rejection |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 1 | 10 |
| Colour (Units on Platinum Coat scale | 5 | 25 |
| Taste and Odor | Unobjectionable | Unobjectionable |
| pH | 7.0 – 8.5 | < 6.5 to >9.2 |
| Total dissolved solids (mg/l) | 500 | 2000 |
| Total hardness (as CaCO2) mg/l | 200 | 600 |
| Chlorides (as CI) mg/l | 200 | 1000 |
| Sulphats (as SO4) mg/l | 200 | 400 |
| Fluorides (as F) mg/l | 1 | 1.5 |
| Nitrates (as NO3) mg/l | 45 | 45 |
| Calcium (as Ca) mg/l | 75 | 200 |
| Magnesium (as MG) mg/l | < 30 | 150 |
| Iron (as Fe) mg/l | 0.1 | 1 |
| Manganese (as Mn) mg/l | 0.05 | 0.5 |
| Copper (as Cu) mg/l | 0.05 | 1.5 |
| Aluminum A\(as Al) mg/l | 0.03 | 0.2 |
| Alkalinity mg/l | 200 | 600 |
| Residual Chlorine mg/l | 0.2 | > 1.0 |
| Zinc (as Zn) mg/l | 5 | 15 |
| Phenolic compounds *(as Phenol mg/l | 0.001 | 0.002 |
| Anionic detergents mg/l (as MBAS) | 0.2 | 1 |
| Mineral Oil mg/l | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| Arsenic (as As) mg/l | 0.01 | 0.05 |
| Cadmium (as Cd) mg/l | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Chromium (as Cd) mg/l | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Cyanides (as CN) mg/l | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Lead (as Pb) mg/l | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Selenium (as Se) mg/l | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Mercury (total as Hg) mg/l | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) mg/l | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| Pesticides (total) mg/l | Absent | Refer WHO guidelines |
| Gross Alpha activity (Bq/1) | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Gross Beta activity (Bq/1) | 1 | 1 |
