Since the beginning of piped water supply to residents of Dhaka city more than a hundred years ago--though with a minimal coverage-- expansion programmes and service delivery of the Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), despite manifold growth over the decades, are far from matching the needs of the city's ever-increasing population. Over and above, sewerage management, a key activity of the state-run agency has shown no noticeable sign of planned progress. Reportedly many projects were taken up by DWASA to reach its services to a greater number of the residents, still the overall picture is far from satisfactory, to say the least. Lately, it has been learnt that the government has sought a $320-million loan from the New Development Bank (NDB)-- the lending arm of the BRICS, to finance a project aimed at expanding water supply coverage and reducing system losses of the Dhaka WASA.
A FE report says DWASA looks to expand its supply coverage to 16 newly added unions in the city. Under the project, the organisation seeks to enhance its efficiency by widening its network while also reducing system losses to below 10 per cent, down from approximately the current 30 per cent. Officials say the total cost of the project is estimated to be Tk 41.1 billion (around $380 million), with 85 per cent ($320 million) to be funded by external sources, and the remaining portion by the government. A NDB team visited Dhaka in September to conduct an appraisal mission for the proposed project, the FE report says quoting sources. The mission exchanged views with officials, including those from the Economic Relations Division and the Local Government Division.
According to the FE report Dhaka's per-day water demand ranged from 3,000 to 3,200 million litres last year, while official documents show that DWASA's daily production capacity was around 2,650 to 2,700 million litres. Besides the shortfall, a substantial portion --- 30 per cent non-revenue water --- continues to erode the capacity of DWASA due to leakage, illegal connections and pilferage.
To meet the growing water demand, DWASA plans to establish a total of five water treatment plants to draw supply from the Padma and Meghna rivers. Currently, it is implementing three plants: Padma Phase I (operational), Gandharbapur Phase I, and Saidabad Phase III (currently under construction).
Other key aspects of the project include establishing a water supply network for the Padma Northwest Sector. This will involve implementing a water transmission and distribution network for currently unserved areas like Nabinagar housing, Dhaka Udyan, Chandrima, Hazaribag and Bosila. The water will be sourced from the Padma river to the south of Dhaka and undergo treatment at the Padma water treatment plant. The plan is to construct 56 km of transmission pipelines in the Padma Northwest Sector by 2029, along with completing the construction and rehabilitation of 1,575 km of the water distribution network in the 16 unions and the Padma Northwest Sector, according to WASA officials.
At present DWASA is running one large and three small water treatment plants with the assistance of large investments and assistance from the funding agencies. There is also a great need for more investments in establishing more treatment plants in order to meet the fast-growing water demand in Dhaka city.
At this moment, out of four plants Dhaka WASA has a water treatment plant under construction with a capacity for 2.25 million cubic meters per day (2250 MLD), and for this it has received $250 million under the Danish development assistance. Currently, Dhaka WASA has six ongoing investment projects, including one to construct boreholes for deep tube wells, and the Dhaka Water Supply Sector Development Plan to completely replace the water pipelines using Asian Development Bank funding
The existing water services heavily rely on groundwater. Around 79 to 80 per cent of water produced by DWASA is currently sourced from aquifers. According to experts, Dhaka WASA needs massive investment to treat surface water in order to replace extraction of groundwater as it is becoming no more viable. Treating surface water requires huge investments, and this is a great challenge for DWASA. It covers more than 360 sq. km service area with 12.5 million people with a production of almost 2,110 million liters per day (MLD).
Over the years, the number of DWASA deep tube-wells (DTW) has increased to nearly 650 across the city. The upper well casing length of DTWs is increasing to keep pace with the lowering static water table. Furthermore, due to clogged DTWs from over extraction, their yields are decreasing resulting in short operational life of about two to three years. As a result, about 40 to 60 DTW are replaced each year. The recurring maintenance and replacement costs add up to a significant number.
Taking up mega projects is not all. Capital-intensive and time-consuming as these are, the projects need to be weighed thoroughly in terms of sustainable public service. Since supplying water, preferably clean and drinkable, is the key function of DWASA, there is no shortcut to persistent efforts to meet the growing public need. It is here that taking up medium- to long-term projects and effective implementation is crucial.
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