Saving city people from contaminated groundwater
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Syed Fattahul Alim
Water and life are two interchangeable words in the world of the living. But this truism may not apply to the case of Buriganga, Sitalakkya, Balu and Turag rivers flowing past the capital city of Dhaka. One needs only to take samples of water from these rivers and put those under the microscope to see if there is any sign of life in the liquid they contain. Indeed, no trace of life could be found in the samples of water taken from those rivers.
Though the thick, black, gooey and foul smelling liquid passing for water in the said rivers surrounding the capital city of Dhaka may not support life in any form, the population of the capital city depends on these rivers for their survival all the same. For there is no other place to discharge all the waste materials from the kitchen garbage to human wastes to the effluents from the dyeing and tannery industries that this mega-city produces but into these rivers and the city people do that mindlessly without any let-up. The Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) used to treat the waters of Buriganga and Sitalakkhya with Chlorine and Ammonium Sulphate before supplying to the dwellers of the capital city. But of late, the condition of the liquid creeping through these rivers has become practically untreatable.
Tests carried out by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) have found that the oxygen level in these rivers girdling the capital city is extremely low. So, it is not surprising that no living organism, not to speak of fish or other bigger aquatic animals, can live in the water of these rivers. But how has it happened before our own eyes? What have been the authorities that are supposed to look after the well being of the city's population doing so far? Can one really call the liquid that flows through those rivers water and where it flows river?
Local residents have been watching the deaths of those rivers, that once were the source of their livelihood, helplessly. Their social and cultural life, their songs, their folktales-all centred around these rivers. Newspaper reports quoting the people living on the banks of these rivers say that even two decades back aquatic life thrived in the waters of Buriganga, Sitalakkhya, Turag, Balu and so on. Even sweet water dolphins or porpoises could be found in those rivers. In fact, the killing of these rivers had been going on over a long period of time. But the breakneck growth of the city with its population just exploding within the span of the last two to three decades has to all intents and purposes destroyed the very natural ecosystems that supported life in this city for hundreds of years. The rivers like Buriganga, Sitalakkya and other bigger and smaller rivers and canals constituted a major part of that ecosystem. But the city people, especially the city's waste disposal bodies and some industries have worked together to kill these rivers gratuitously. Now it is not just the death of these rivers that the people must mourn. There is still a scarier scenario awaiting the populace of this mega city. The city is fast losing the sources of its treatable water on which its 10 million plus population may survive. Now after contaminating all the surface waters available in and around the city, the toxic filth and dirt have started to seep into the ground water, the last resort of the city people so far as their major source of safe water is concerned. According to media reports, a recent study by the World Bank (WB) and the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) has found that the groundwater under the central part of the capital city where the deep tube wells draw their water from has started to get contaminated. The groundwater under Dhaka city is sucking the sticky, stinky and toxic fluid of these rivers through the points where the aquifers recharge from the riverbeds surrounding the city into its system. The Hazaribagh area of the city, for example, where the tannery industries release their toxic effluents is the most affected point so far as the groundwater is concerned, the WB-IWM study suggests, quotes a newspaper.
The city-dwellers are exposed to a grave threat to their health. To say that the situation is serious is but an understatement. Consider the ominous prospects. The gooey, obnoxious and dangerously toxic liquid that destroys all forms of life is inexorably seeping into the groundwater of the city in greater and greater amounts every passing day. The deep tube-wells are withdrawing that water in ever greater amounts. The Wasa water is therefore passing greater doses of this toxic stinking fluid into the pipe water connected to the households. It really boggles the mind to even think of such prospects. But the fact of the matter is that it has already started to happen. And it is just a matter of time before the deadly doses of the loathsome liquid starts to take its toll on the city's population.
Since there is no other source of water for the city people's consumption than the groundwater system, the authorities need to take matters on a war-footing.
But how to stop the flow of the dangerous fluid from these rivers into ground water reservoir of the capital city? For there is no way to stop the aquifers from recharging from the riverbeds where the stinky liquid flows.
That the Wasa water is already contaminated with disagreeable and pathogenic contents can be known from the occasional reports in the media about the complaints made by the consumers of supply water in the different parts of the city. Meanwhile, the incidence of hepatitis, dysentery, typhoid and other diseases originating from water have been on the rise. Of the many factors leading to such medical conditions, the supply water is a major source. The waterborne diseases are costing the population dearly. The best way to contain the menace is to keep the supply water free from unhygienic, pathogenic and loathsome contents originating from the river-ecosystem.
Stopping the process of polluting the groundwater of the capital city will be a great challenge before the government. The issue needs to be dealt with utmost priority because it has to do with the life of more than 10 million people of the capital city.
First of all, the polluting industries have to be relocated to other places remote from the city. Secondly, a drastic change in the waste disposal system has to be made. The technology is already available. Using this technology it is possible to recycle the kitchen garbage including the human wastes without dumping those into the rivers or other sensitive places. The industries should also introduce such recycling technology to separate their effluents from the dangerous chemicals harmful for the environment. The measures might be costly for these industries. In that case, the government and the aid agencies have to work out a way to lessen the cost burden of effluent treatment on the industry. In the same way, the waste disposal system of the municipalities and the industries may be made more scientific and environment-friendly.
Whatever the measures taken to fight the menace, the actions to this end cannot wait. For it is the life death question of the city dwellers as well the life sustaining ecology of Dhaka.
Water and life are two interchangeable words in the world of the living. But this truism may not apply to the case of Buriganga, Sitalakkya, Balu and Turag rivers flowing past the capital city of Dhaka. One needs only to take samples of water from these rivers and put those under the microscope to see if there is any sign of life in the liquid they contain. Indeed, no trace of life could be found in the samples of water taken from those rivers.
Though the thick, black, gooey and foul smelling liquid passing for water in the said rivers surrounding the capital city of Dhaka may not support life in any form, the population of the capital city depends on these rivers for their survival all the same. For there is no other place to discharge all the waste materials from the kitchen garbage to human wastes to the effluents from the dyeing and tannery industries that this mega-city produces but into these rivers and the city people do that mindlessly without any let-up. The Water and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) used to treat the waters of Buriganga and Sitalakkhya with Chlorine and Ammonium Sulphate before supplying to the dwellers of the capital city. But of late, the condition of the liquid creeping through these rivers has become practically untreatable.
Tests carried out by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) have found that the oxygen level in these rivers girdling the capital city is extremely low. So, it is not surprising that no living organism, not to speak of fish or other bigger aquatic animals, can live in the water of these rivers. But how has it happened before our own eyes? What have been the authorities that are supposed to look after the well being of the city's population doing so far? Can one really call the liquid that flows through those rivers water and where it flows river?
Local residents have been watching the deaths of those rivers, that once were the source of their livelihood, helplessly. Their social and cultural life, their songs, their folktales-all centred around these rivers. Newspaper reports quoting the people living on the banks of these rivers say that even two decades back aquatic life thrived in the waters of Buriganga, Sitalakkhya, Turag, Balu and so on. Even sweet water dolphins or porpoises could be found in those rivers. In fact, the killing of these rivers had been going on over a long period of time. But the breakneck growth of the city with its population just exploding within the span of the last two to three decades has to all intents and purposes destroyed the very natural ecosystems that supported life in this city for hundreds of years. The rivers like Buriganga, Sitalakkya and other bigger and smaller rivers and canals constituted a major part of that ecosystem. But the city people, especially the city's waste disposal bodies and some industries have worked together to kill these rivers gratuitously. Now it is not just the death of these rivers that the people must mourn. There is still a scarier scenario awaiting the populace of this mega city. The city is fast losing the sources of its treatable water on which its 10 million plus population may survive. Now after contaminating all the surface waters available in and around the city, the toxic filth and dirt have started to seep into the ground water, the last resort of the city people so far as their major source of safe water is concerned. According to media reports, a recent study by the World Bank (WB) and the Institute of Water Modelling (IWM) has found that the groundwater under the central part of the capital city where the deep tube wells draw their water from has started to get contaminated. The groundwater under Dhaka city is sucking the sticky, stinky and toxic fluid of these rivers through the points where the aquifers recharge from the riverbeds surrounding the city into its system. The Hazaribagh area of the city, for example, where the tannery industries release their toxic effluents is the most affected point so far as the groundwater is concerned, the WB-IWM study suggests, quotes a newspaper.
The city-dwellers are exposed to a grave threat to their health. To say that the situation is serious is but an understatement. Consider the ominous prospects. The gooey, obnoxious and dangerously toxic liquid that destroys all forms of life is inexorably seeping into the groundwater of the city in greater and greater amounts every passing day. The deep tube-wells are withdrawing that water in ever greater amounts. The Wasa water is therefore passing greater doses of this toxic stinking fluid into the pipe water connected to the households. It really boggles the mind to even think of such prospects. But the fact of the matter is that it has already started to happen. And it is just a matter of time before the deadly doses of the loathsome liquid starts to take its toll on the city's population.
Since there is no other source of water for the city people's consumption than the groundwater system, the authorities need to take matters on a war-footing.
But how to stop the flow of the dangerous fluid from these rivers into ground water reservoir of the capital city? For there is no way to stop the aquifers from recharging from the riverbeds where the stinky liquid flows.
That the Wasa water is already contaminated with disagreeable and pathogenic contents can be known from the occasional reports in the media about the complaints made by the consumers of supply water in the different parts of the city. Meanwhile, the incidence of hepatitis, dysentery, typhoid and other diseases originating from water have been on the rise. Of the many factors leading to such medical conditions, the supply water is a major source. The waterborne diseases are costing the population dearly. The best way to contain the menace is to keep the supply water free from unhygienic, pathogenic and loathsome contents originating from the river-ecosystem.
Stopping the process of polluting the groundwater of the capital city will be a great challenge before the government. The issue needs to be dealt with utmost priority because it has to do with the life of more than 10 million people of the capital city.
First of all, the polluting industries have to be relocated to other places remote from the city. Secondly, a drastic change in the waste disposal system has to be made. The technology is already available. Using this technology it is possible to recycle the kitchen garbage including the human wastes without dumping those into the rivers or other sensitive places. The industries should also introduce such recycling technology to separate their effluents from the dangerous chemicals harmful for the environment. The measures might be costly for these industries. In that case, the government and the aid agencies have to work out a way to lessen the cost burden of effluent treatment on the industry. In the same way, the waste disposal system of the municipalities and the industries may be made more scientific and environment-friendly.
Whatever the measures taken to fight the menace, the actions to this end cannot wait. For it is the life death question of the city dwellers as well the life sustaining ecology of Dhaka.