- Water quality
- Gurugram
- Nuh
Is Your Borewell Water Safe to Drink? TDS, Fluoride and Salinity in Gurugram and Nuh
TerraSetu team · · 4 min read
"What is the TDS of my borewell water, and is it safe?" is one of the first questions people ask us on a site visit in Gurugram, Nuh or Rewari. The honest answer is that TDS alone does not tell you. Two other things matter more in this part of Haryana: fluoride and salinity, both of which CGWB has found above the safe limit in the groundwater of both districts.
This post explains the safe limits, what the government's own testing found in Gurugram and Nuh, how to test your own bore and what to do with the result.
The safe limits, in one table
India's drinking water standard is IS 10500:2012 from the Bureau of Indian Standards. It gives an acceptable limit and a higher permissible limit that applies only when there is no other source.
| What is measured | Acceptable | Permissible (no other source) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total dissolved solids (TDS) | 500 mg/L | 2,000 mg/L | Taste, scaling; a high TDS usually means salinity |
| Fluoride | 1.0 mg/L | 1.5 mg/L | Above 1.5, mottled teeth and, over years, bone damage |
| Nitrate | 45 mg/L | No relaxation | Sewage or fertiliser getting into the water; harmful to infants |
| Total hardness | 200 mg/L | 600 mg/L | Scaling on taps, geysers and RO membranes |
A TDS meter from the market measures dissolved salts. It cannot see fluoride, nitrate, arsenic or bacteria. Water at 300 mg/L TDS can still carry too much fluoride.
What CGWB found in Haryana
CGWB tests shallow groundwater across the country every year. Its 2024 report, from pre-monsoon 2023 sampling, found fluoride above the BIS limit in 17 of Haryana's districts and saline water in 19. Both Gurugram and Nuh are on both lists.
- Gurugram: fluoride and salinity both found above limits. For salinity, 9 of 48 samples exceeded the limit. See the Gurugram water quality page.
- Nuh: fluoride and salinity both found. Nuh is the opposite of Gurugram in one way: water is close to the surface, 1 m to 6 m deep in CGWB's wells, but much of it is too salty to drink. See the Nuh water quality page.
The state pages show every affected district: fluoride in Haryana and saline groundwater in Haryana.
These are district-level findings. Water a few hundred metres apart can be very different, which is why your own test matters.
How to test your borewell
- Use a NABL-accredited lab or the public health engineering department's district lab. Ask for a test to IS 10500 covering at least TDS, fluoride, nitrate, hardness, iron and coliform bacteria. Expect ₹1,500 to ₹5,000, depending on how many parameters you choose.
- Take the sample properly. Run the pump for five to ten minutes first, fill a clean bottle supplied by the lab, and get it there the same day.
- Test twice a year. Once before the monsoon and once after. Salinity and fluoride often change with the water level.
Businesses and societies applying for an HWRA permit need an IS 10500 report anyway; see borewell permission in Haryana.
What to do with the result
- TDS under 500 and nothing else high: the water is fine to drink. An RO would only waste water.
- TDS 500 to 2,000: drinkable but hard and salty. Many households use a softener or an RO for drinking water only.
- TDS above 2,000, or fluoride above 1.5 mg/L: do not drink it untreated. A good RO removes both; keep it to drinking and cooking, because it rejects two to three litres for each litre it makes.
- Nitrate or bacteria present: look for a nearby soak pit, septic tank or sewer leak first. Treatment does not fix the source.
Can recharge improve the water?
Often, yes. Rainwater has almost no dissolved salts. A well-filtered recharge bore next to your borewell puts fresh water into the same layer and dilutes salinity and fluoride over time, especially in the months after the monsoon. It works best where the water is moderately saline; where it is very salty, HWRA's rules call for storing rainwater for use rather than sending it down.
Recharge only helps if the water going down is clean: roof water, a first-flush diverter and a filter you clean every year. How to recharge a dry borewell covers the methods and costs, and our borewell recharge service builds them.
For CSR teams and gram panchayats
Where a village's drinking water is saline or high in fluoride, a recharge structure, a revived pond or a rooftop system at the school is one of the most measurable things CSR money can buy. Nuh has fluoride and saline groundwater and 71% of its water bodies out of use; the Nuh CSR district page sets out the case, and CSR water conservation explains how we deliver it.
Send us your test report and we will tell you whether recharge will help your water, and what it costs.
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