Capital getting 35pc unsafe water

Islamabad: The water quality assessment of 224 operational water sources of Islamabad revealed that 146 (65 per cent) operational water sources of the capital city are supplying safe drinking water whereas 78 sources (35 per cent) are supplying unsafe water due to wide spread microbial contamination. The recent water quality assessment of Islamabad was conducted in September 2018, by Pakistan Council of Research on Water Resources (PCRWR) in order to assist Ministry of Interior in furnishing detailed work plan and recommendations for supply of safe drinking water for Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). For this purpose, the Metropolitan Corporation, Islamabad (MCI) provided a list of 316 water sources of Islamabad, out of which 224 (71 per cent) were operational and were assessed by PCRWR for water quality status.

These sources included 200 tube wells, out of which 131 were operational and assessed for water quality. The analytical findings compared with National Standards for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) revealed that 101 (77 per cent) of tube wells were supplying safe drinking water, whereas 30 (23 per cent) were supplying unsafe drinking water.

The water quality assessment of 43 (67 per cent) operational water supply schemes indicated supply of safe drinking water from 9 (21 per cent) and unsafe water from 34 (79 per cent).

Moreover, the water quality assessment of 13 water works and reservoirs showed supply of safe water from 9 (69 per cent) sources and unsafe water from remaining 4 (31 per cent). An assessment of 37 operational water filtration plants showed supply of safe water from 27 (73 per cent) and unsafe from 10 (27 per cent) plants.

The report says that in Islamabad, the main sources of domestic water supply are, the reservoirs built at Simly and Khanpur, many tube wells, and few springs located at Saidpur, Nurpur and Shahdra-hills. About 2,001,579 inhabitants of Islamabad receive some or all of their drinking water from these sources.

The conventional treatment methods such as coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, filtration and chlorination are used for the treatment of Simly and Khanpur reservoirs water to make it potable.