It may come as a surprise to many but it’s a fact that groundwater supplied to more than 130 areas in Lahore for drinking purposes contains arsenic that is well above the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb).
Different surveys conducted in this regard reveal that around 70 per cent of the city population consumes water contaminated with arsenic. According to one such survey, done recently by the Environment Protection Department (EPD) in Lahore, it was revealed that 253 of 392 tube-wells tested for this purpose were pumping out water contaminated with arsenic.
Arsenic is an odourless and tasteless semi-solid substance. It enters the drinking water supplies from natural deposits in the earth or from agricultural and industrial practices. Though one may not feel the adverse effects of arsenic consumption immediately, it can cause thickening and discoloration of the skin, stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea; numbness in hands and feet, partial paralysis and blindness. Its consumption over longer periods can make users vulnerable to cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, liver, and prostate.
A World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) study, titled ‘Situation analysis of water resources of Lahore,’ released in November last year, states: "In the surrounding areas of Lahore, arsenic concentration is much higher than the WHO standard. The highly arsenic contaminated groundwater is found at shallow water-table depths of up to 30m and the main anthropogenic source of arsenic is air pollutants derived from kiln factories, with fertilizers being a possible secondary source."
The government authorities also acknowledge this threat to public health. They have announced mitigation plans but are so far not able to tackle this effectively due to several reasons.
A Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) official tells TNS on condition of anonymity that Wasa has installed arsenic removal plants on more than 300 tube-wells but many of these are out of order.
"Very often, the expensive equipment is stolen and many of these plants remain dysfunctional due to non-payment of electricity bills," he says. "The rusty and worn out pipelines also render the whole exercise futile."
One positive development happening on this front is the coming together of multiple entities that include global environmental organisations, government bodies, research, organisations, corporate sector, local communities and philanthropies to find a solution. However, the focus of the initiative is on giving the ownership and responsibility to the community-which is the ultimate beneficiary. The said initiative is spearheaded by the WWF in collaboration with different partners at different places and is about installation of filtration plants.
Sohail Ali Naqvi, Senior Project Officer, WWF-Pakistan, says that for the filtration plants, the baseline data was gathered regarding to the need and issues of the areas. These sites including Basti Saidan Shah, Youanabad and Lady Willingdon Hospital were selected on the basis of following selection criteria:
a)Water quality report by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (Govt Deptt). If water is unfit for drinking in that area?
b)Is the community willing to take ownership of the plant and ensures its sustainability?
c)The community is providing land for the plant and bears the water cost and electricity cost
d)The community shall be taking care of service of the plant after one year
He also says that the main challenge for the plant erection was the sustainability of the plants and ownership by the community, so the plants were installed after listening to the socio-economic as well as community concerns.
WWF-Pakistan is connected with the government regarding the handling of water issues, Naqvi says, adding that the study mentioned earlier was conducted on the basis of secondary data gathered from WASA, Irrigation department and research and development sections of different departments.
In the Walled City, WWF is going to install water filtration plants with collaboration of the Walled City Lahore Authority (WCLA). Though water is an issue everywhere, these filtration plants are installed only in those areas where the community has shown interest and taken the ownership of the initiative.
Naqvi explains that WWF provides the expertise and technical advice whereas the initial funding comes from partners such as corporations. For example, Coca-Cola Beverages Pakistan Limited (CCBPL) set up filtration plants at Basti Saidan Shah, Lady Willingdon Hospital and Youhanabad under the name of paani. The plant at Lorry Adda Badami Bagh was set up on the request of the City District Government Lahore (CDGL).
According to Naqvi, the cost of a filtration plant varies from Ultra Filtration (UF) to Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology, while on an average one filtration plant costs Rs1.5 million.
One plant can benefit about 9,000 people with an installed capacity of 2000 litres per hour. This water filter has six types of treatment options including arsenic removal as well as ozonation.
Zafar Abbas Jafri, Director Public Affairs and Communications at CCBPL, says that "access to clean drinking water in Pakistan is a major issue. In the coming years, increased water scarcity will make things worse, so it’s important to educate the masses and introduce initiatives to make efficient use of the water currently available."
The CCBPL, Jafri says, places the issue of water usage, which is fundamental to their business, at the heart of its environmental policy. "We aim to replenish every drop of water we use. Establishing a water sustainable operation is key to our business success and to the welfare of the communities in which we operate."
Dr Muneeb Razzaq, a medical practitioner, believes this is one such area where the government and the private funds shall be directed to on priority basis. This investment will be a fraction of what is needed to treat the diseases caused by consumption of arsenic-contaminated water.