WASA admits it supplies \\\'undrinkable water\\\'

In neighbouring India and Sri Lanka, one can drink water directly from taps, something considered impossible in Dhaka. Dhaka’s Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) also does not claim the water it supplies is ‘drinkable’. WASA’s daily supply of around 2.1 billion litres falls short of the demand of 2.3 billion litres. It is supposed to be source of drinking water for the city. It collects 78 per cent from deep tube wells and the rest from the rivers. But drinking water from taps ended  a long time ago after the water was found to be dirty, full of germs and foul odour. Residents of Dhaka now drink water after boiling and filtering in households and from packaged bottles in offices. WASA Deputy Managing Director Md Ataur Rahman said they were considering supplying drinkable water through pilot projects. Urban development expert Nazrul Islam said he saw authorities testing water thrice a day in Colombo. “Does the authority in Dhaka city do that?” an angry Islam asked. He observed that the matter should have been taken into cognisance a long time ago. “The people don’t have confidence on the quality of the water supplied by WASA,” he added. Brac University’s Professor Emeritus Dr Ainun Nishat, a well known hydrologist, said: “Now we’ve accepted that water from taps can be used for bath or washing clothes, but one cannot drink it.” Chief Chemist Md Abdus Sattar Mia of Public Health Engineering Department suggested everyone should boil or filter the tap water before drinking. “Even in my house, we do not drink water from taps. We drink after boiling and filtering,” he said. WASA officials said even the most reliable process to make water safe for drinking has not worked in Dhaka, according to bdnews24.com.