Key highlights

• CPCB’s National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP) tracks rivers, lakes, tanks/ponds, creeks/seawater, canals, drains and more—through a large national monitoring network. CPCB+1
• Sampling and monitoring are carried out by State Pollution Control Boards / Pollution Control Committees (SPCBs/PCCs), not by “one central team.” CPCB
• The network publishes datasets and year-wise water-quality files—useful, but not the same as “every tap is safe.” CPCB+1

If you’ve ever looked at a waterbody and thought, “Is this safe, or am I just getting used to the smell?”—NWMP is the closest thing India has to a repeatable, official answer. It’s a national monitoring effort, built as a network, not a one-off inspection drive. CPCB’s NWMP network covers hundreds of rivers and other waterbodies, including lakes and coastal/creek locations, giving the country a consistent way to track what’s changing, where, and how often. CPCB

But trust improves only when expectations are honest. The monitoring is carried out by the respective SPCBs/PCCs, and sites are chosen using stated selection criteria—meaning the data reflects monitored points, not every stretch of every river. CPCB This is also why a single “good/bad” label for an entire city’s water can mislead: one river stretch, one lake pocket, or one season can swing the result.

What does NWMP actually look for? CPCB’s network notes list parameters across core and general water-quality indicators, along with trace metals and pesticides (as per monitoring guidelines). CPCB+1 That makes NWMP useful for trendlines—is the river deteriorating, stabilising, or improving?—and for accountability—are problem points recurring?

What it cannot do: certify “safe for drinking” for households. Drinking safety depends on treatment, pipe integrity, storage, and local contamination events—things a monitoring station cannot fully represent.