Crises of supply water and high salinity are commonplace in Chittagong city. But residents say salinity has exceeded the tolerable level this year. Sometimes the water is so salty that the Wasa is forced to suspend its supply to different neighbourhoods.
The crisis has worsened in the past week, pushing more and more city residentsin to suffering.
Last year, maximum salinity in Chittagong water was 3,500mg per litre. However, according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO), water becomes inappropriate for consumption if it has a salinity of 400 to 600mg per litre.
Already, up to 2,100mg per litre of salinity has been found in Wasa water this year. Hence, Wasa's water is extremely hazardous to the general public's health.
There is a possibility that the salinity may increase this year, experts say, who attribute it to the reduction of freshwater in the underground and the intrusion of salty sea water into the river.
Chittagong Wasa officials say that seawater is entering the rivers due to a lack of rain. Along with tides, this problem increases manifold during new and full moons. The level of saline water increases during high tides as not enough water is released from the Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant.
According to Chittagong Wasa sources, the daily water demand in Chittagong is 500 million litres. At present, around 420 to 450 million litres of water are being supplied from four water treatment plant projects in Wasa. As a result, there is a deficit in supply.
Of the supplied water, 286 million litres are being supplied from Phase-1 and Phase-2 of the Sheikh Hasina Water Treatment Plant, and 80 to 90 million litres from the Sheikh Russell Water Treatment Plant. Another 80 to 90 million litres are supplied by the Mohra Water Treatment Plant.
Of the four projects, the salinity problem has arisen in two projects, of which the severity has been traced to the Mohra Water Treatment Plant. In this project, high salinity in water is found during the new and full moons. Water supply from this project is stopped when the salinity level crosses 700mg per litre. Similarly, salinity in the water from the Sheikh Russell Water Treatment Plant also goes up during high tide, and supply is suspended in such cases.
Currently, Wasa has 78,542 residential connections and 7,767 commercial connections. The company supplies water through 770 kilometres of pipelines across the city. As most of the lines are old, the customers do not get water properly. Water is being wasted due to leakage or holes in the line. The crisis is now getting worse due to salinity.
Mohin Uddin, a resident of the Bahaddarhat area of the city, said: "Although the water bill of Wasa has been increased every year, the authorities have not been able to ensure access to safe water. Sometimes the water has dirt as well as a bad smell. The new problem in recent days is salinity. There is not enough water, either. There is always some problem with Wasa water.”
Chittagong Wasa Chief Engineer Maksud Alam said: "Saline sea water is entering the Karnaphuli River. Because of this salinity problem that has arisen in the Mohra project, production has to be reduced sometimes. The same problem is seen in the Madunaghat. As a result, there is always some crisis of water at the customer level.”
He further said: “Sufficient water is not being released from the Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant. It has not been raining for a long time as well. If enough water was released from Kaptai and it rained, saline water would not enter the river. Now the amount of fresh water in the river decreases, and saltwater from the sea enters during the tide. This is the problem. However, projects are being undertaken to remove salinity from Wasa water. However, the project is time-consuming.”
Soumit Paul, executive engineer of the Sheikh Russell Water Treatment Plant, said: "There has been a salinity problem in the water for the past few days. Water supply is reduced when salinity problems increase during high tides. However, the amount of salinity problem that is found in the Mohra project is still not taking place in my project.”
Mohammad Yusuf, executive engineer of the Mohra Water Treatment Plant, said: "The salinity problem has been going on for the past few days. However, this salinity does not exist in normal times and is seen during high tide, the new moon, or the full moon. Sometimes the problem is severe.”
In this context, environmentalist and researcher Dr Idris Ali said: "The salinity problem of Wasa water is very complex. Last year, salinity was found to be up to 3,500mg per litre. The problem customers faced last year with Wasa water will likely increase.”
In this regard, the manager of Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Plant, ATM Abduzzah, said: "This project can produce 242 megawatts of electricity in five units. The water level in Kaptai Lake, the main source of power generation, has dropped significantly. Such a situation has arisen due to the lack of rain for a long time. Due to this, power generation has decreased.”
