No one drinks water directly from the tap in the city but that is hardly an excuse to supply putrid, smelly and contaminated water which cannot be used for other household work. After a recent public backlash against the low quality of water, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, LGRD, carried out a thorough investigation and found arsenic, ammonia, chlorine and bacteria in water from four zones out of ten.

 Based on the report, the High Court has asked Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, WASA, to give an explanation in two weeks. Water quality has always been a concern among city residents and if water from some area is murky, in others, it has too much chlorine causing skin rashes, hair fall plus other complications. In a much form diabolical manifestation, such water, often drunk by children by mistake, causes diarrhea. In several areas of Dhaka city, including Rampura, Badda and Moghbazaar, residents have regularly complained of supply water with a foul smell, which may mean that leaked sewerage lines often end up in supply lines.

There is also the common complaint of micro worms coming with the supply water. The problem with water seems to be in areas which are near the Buriganga River. In Saidabad area, the water is putrid since much of it comes from the Buriganga surface water that, at places has turned into cesspits of urban waste. There is no instant solution to this though a strategic approach involving the cleaning of Buriganga can produce some results.

If dumping of waste and chemicals into the Buriganga is checked, water taken by the supply lines will improve. Also, WASA can use latest technology to strain water so insects, worms and dirt are collected in a large net placed at the source. Another long term move can be to establish zonal water treatment centres, especially in areas where the complaints are high. As an instant remedy, WASA should place water tanks in specific areas, providing service at nominal rates. To address smelly water, sewerage lines need thorough inspection.