Water at 90 Rewari government schools fails tests; Bawal worst hit

Drinking water samples from 90 government schools in Haryana's Rewari district have failed laboratory tests, according to a report of the district's elementary education office that came to light on October 21-22, 2026. The samples were taken in August and September from school hand pumps, borewells and taps and tested at a Public Health Engineering Department laboratory. Some showed total dissolved solids above the permissible limit and some contained bacteria. Bawal block accounts for 61 of the 90 schools, and district officials have ordered fresh sampling.

Safe drinking water is one of the most basic conditions of a school, alongside toilets and a usable classroom. Children spend six or more hours a day at school, and many in government schools depend entirely on the water available there. When a district finds that one in seven of its government schools cannot pass a basic water test, it is a measure of how school infrastructure is working on the ground, not on paper.

Two kinds of problem were reported. Total dissolved solids, or TDS, is a measure of the salts and minerals dissolved in water; high levels make water taste salty or bitter and show that the source is not suitable for regular drinking without treatment. Bacteria are a more direct health concern because they can cause stomach infections, which in turn lead to missed school days. Reports say some schools had RO purifiers, machines that filter dissolved solids out of water, that had not worked for a long time, which suggests that equipment was installed but not maintained.

The pattern across the district matters too. Bawal block accounts for two-thirds of the failed schools, while every school in Khol block passed. That points to local groundwater conditions and the type of supply, since some schools use hand pumps and borewells and others receive piped water from the Public Health Engineering Department. A fix that works in one block may not work in another.

There is also a question about the test itself. District officials said the first samples were collected by school authorities rather than by the department that runs the laboratory, which is why a fresh round of sampling has been ordered. The retest will show whether the problem is as wide as the first report suggests, and parents and teachers will be watching for its results.

Short-term: schools in the affected blocks are expected to clean and disinfect their water tanks, repair purifiers and arrange safe water while the Public Health Engineering Department takes fresh samples.

Long-term: if the retest confirms the results, the district will need lasting solutions for schools in Bawal, Nahar and Jatusana blocks, such as a different water source, piped supply or regular maintenance of purifiers.

Who is affected: pupils and teachers at the 90 schools, especially young children who drink school water through the day; parents in Bawal block; and the education and public health departments responsible for school facilities.

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