700 bacteria in every drop of Chattogram water

A recent study by the Chattogram Development Authority (CDA) found nearly 700 bacteria in every single drop of water from WASA, tube wells, and commercial jars.

The city houses 70 lakh residents and even after boiling the water at home for 20-30 minutes or purifying it with a filter, nearly 500 harmful elements remain in every drop. Researchers even found evidence that instead of decreasing, the amount of suspended particles in the water actually increased after purification.

Chattogram WASA supplies about 48 crore liters of water daily from six treatment plants and 46 tube wells. However, CDA expressed concern over its quality in the newly drafted metropolitan master plan.

In the “Structure Plan” section of the draft published on 2 August, a special chapter has been kept regarding the quality of drinking water. Citing a joint study published in the international scientific journal “Heliyon”, it said the presence of microbes in the water of all sources in Chattogram exceeds the permissible limit.

Five researchers from University of Chittagong (CU), Chattogram Polytechnic Institute, and the University of Nottingham Malaysia conducted the study mentioned in the master plan.

They tested 36 samples of raw and treated water in laboratories from the Kotwali, Halishahar, Bayezid, Chandgaon, Bandar, and Saraipara areas under the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC). They took the opinions of 149 residents to know their views on water quality.

One of the members of the research team, Shyamal Karmakar, a researcher at the Institute of Water Research at Michigan State University in the United States and a CU Professor, said, “We can test the presence of bacteria and chemicals found in the research within the country. Beyond these, numerous unknown inorganic pollutants have been found, which we might not even be able to identify.

“The only scientific and sustainable solution to overcome this horrific situation is to keep water sources pollution-free, starting from the drains next to homes to underground and surface water sources. Otherwise, this contaminated water will re-enter our bodies through the water cycle.”

According to the Environmental Conservation Rules-2023, the presence of harmful elements or bacteria in drinking water must be “zero”. However, the study showed that depending on the area, researchers found bacteria ranging from 9,250-14,000 per milliliter in WASA’s raw water.

Even after purifying it at home, 3,400-10,300 bacteria remain. Similarly, raw tube well water contained 680-13,500 bacteria, and 680-10,000 remained after treatment. In commercial jar water, they found 150-1,000 bacteria in raw form, and 100-650 remained after treatment.

Alarming bacteria counts per drop and health risks

According to the data found in the study, if the number of bacteria found per milliliter of water is calculated on a per-drop basis, the picture becomes even more horrifying. Generally, one milliliter of water is considered to contain about 20 drops, meaning one drop is about 0.05 milliliters.

By this calculation, WASA’s raw water in the Chandgaon area contains 14,000 bacteria per milliliter, meaning 700 bacteria exist in a single drop. Raw tube well water in the Bandar area has 13,500 harmful elements per milliliter, which means nearly 675 per single drop.

Since 10,000 bacteria per milliliter remain in that water even after purification, the number of contaminants stands at 500 per drop. Similarly, WASA’s raw water in the Kotwali area has about 500 bacteria per drop, which drops slightly to 400 after purification.

According to the same environmental rules, the acceptable limit of suspended solid particles (SS or TSS) in drinking water is a maximum of 10 milligrams per liter. However, in WASA and tube well water, the level reaches 40-1,888 milligrams.

Except for WASA water in the Kotwali area, the number of suspended particles actually increased after household purification. Researchers suspect that residents failing to clean household filters regularly or using defective filters caused this.

According to the rules, the ideal standard for Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water is 1,000 milligrams per liter, but tube well water in the Bandar and Halishahar areas exceeded this limit.

A total of 76 percent of WASA water users participating in the survey said this water is unfit for drinking. Their main complaints are bad odor (56 percent) and the presence of suspended particles (17 percent).

On the other hand, 58 percent of tube well users reported an abnormal brown color in the water. Even after drinking purified water, 11 percent of WASA consumers and 9 percent of tube well consumers suffered from diarrhea.

Moreover, 7 percent of people in both categories reported contracting jaundice. More than 70 percent of those affected are children.

Pipeline leaks and WASA’s denial of responsibility

Researchers noted that Chattogram WASA supplies water after treating it from the Karnaphuli and Halda rivers. However, due to leaks in the pipelines and poor drainage management, the water becomes contaminated by the time it reaches the consumer level.

On the other hand, processing jar water in an unhygienic environment in unregistered factories also poses major health risks.

However, Chattogram WASA refuses to take responsibility for the pollution. Chief Engineer, Maksud Alam, said, “I can challenge that there are no bacteria in WASA’s water. We collect and test water from 240 spots every month, where no existence of pollution is found. The water gets contaminated mainly at the consumer level.

“Because, despite conducting awareness campaigns, people do not clean water reservoirs and tanks. Just as the water pitcher in the house is kept clean, the reservoir and tank must be kept clean to keep the water sterile.

“Many agencies break pipes while doing development work. At that time, dirty water can enter and cause pollution. However, we repair it as soon as we get the news.”